DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF CHILEAN BENTHIC MARINE POLYCHAETES: STATE-OF-THE ART
Rozbaczylo, N.1 & Simonetti, J. A.2.
1Departamento de Ecologia, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
2Departamento de Ciencias Ecologicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
The number of benthic marine polychaetes currently registered in the southeast Pacific Ocean, along the Chilean coast, does not exceed 450 species. This figure is possibly an understimation of the true number of the species inhabiting this region, given the fact that several coastal regions and different types of marine environments in Chile have not yet been sampled for polychaetes. Based on published information and unpublished records, we review our knowledge of the taxonomic diversity and geographical distribution of benthic polychaetes along the Chilean coast, the Antarctic Peninsula and the oceanic islands off the coast of Chile (Juan Fernandez Archipelago and Easter Island). We describe the taxonomic richness of families, genera and species as well as the degree of endemism of this fauna. We also analyze the species description curve as it relates to the geographic distribution of species and the number of taxonomists working on Chilean polychaetes. Finally, we review the location of the main polychaetological collections and the global distribution of type specimens described for Chilean waters. It seems necessary to complete a biological survey of polychaetes along the Chilean coast. In order to achieve this, it seems mandatory to have the rise of reference collections and an increase in the number of taxonomists involved in the study of Chilean polychaete fauna.