---

Polychaete Journals, Print Newsletters, Books, Review Articles

This overview briefly covers bibliographies, journals and special journal issues, and newsletters, then lists some of important more recent taxonomic monographs and some of the books with extensive treatment of polychaete biology generally, and finishes off with a few major review papers of polychaete topics.

So where are papers about polychaetes published? Is there a journal dedicated to polychaete research?

Polychaete research results are published today in many different journals and may be difficult to keep track of without help from an abstracting service.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES: The Ward and Fauchald Papyrus/EndNote database is a comprehensive bibliography to 1997. Its inspiration and foundation was Hartman, O. 1951. Literature of the Polychaetous Annelids. Vol. I. Bibliography, 290 pp, privately published. Hartman also did a much smaller annotated bibliography p. 1117-1127 in the 1957 Treatise on Marine Ecology and Paleoecology, Geological Society of America, Memoir 67, volume 1. The fossil worms were covered by B. F. Howell on p. 805-816 in volume 2 of the same Treatise.

CURRENT JOURNALS: There are a few likely sources to check for incoming papers. The Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington is a journal currently favoured by polychaete taxonomists, and it usually has two or three papers on polychaetes each issue. Marine Biology (Berlin) has carried much polychaete ecology over the years, as has the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Other journals worth keeping an eye on include Ophelia, Sarsia, Steenstrupia, Bulletin of Marine Science and Zoologica Scripta. The issue of Zoologica Scripta for April 1997 (vol.26(2), published 21 November 1997) has the Fauchald and Rouse, Rouse and Fauchald comprehensive articles on polychaete systematics and cladistic placement of families (see the phylogeny of the annelida page.

See the International Polychaete Conference Publications page for details of the conference publications. The papers of five conferences beginning from 1984 have been published in special issues of various journals. The 6th publication is imminent.

NEWSLETTERS: Widely circulated print newsletters of the past include the USA-based Polychaeta, edited by David Dean, and produced nearly every year from 1968 up to the last issue in 1991, and the UK-based Polychaete Research Newsletter, edited and produced from 1983 to 1993 by Chris Mettam.

Polychaete Research (ISSN 0961-320X), edited by Chris Mettam, is the successor to Polychaete Research Newsletter and aims to carry refereed papers. The first issue appeared in 1995 and was mainly devoted to short papers from a Polychaete colloquium held in Cardiff, 1993. The second issue (No. 17) appeared in early 1998, and is available online. The journal is available from Chris at University of Wales Cardiff, PO Box 915, Cardiff CF1 3TL, UK.

TRIBUTES / FESTSCHRIFT: Vol 92 of Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologisches Museum und Institut was a tribute issue to Gesa Hartmann-Schröder and Gerhard Hartmann published in 1995. Other tribute issues include to Olga Hartman (1977 published by the Allan Hancock Foundation), to the Berkeley's (1971 published as vol.28(10) of Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada), and to Marian Pettibone (1987 published as no. 7 of Bulletin of the Biological Society of Washington).

Taxonomy, with some regional taxonomic overviews of the last thirty years

Probably the most spectacular achievement in polychaete publishing ever is the monograph on British Annelids by W. C. McIntosh published by the Ray Society over a period of about 25 years, beginning in 1900. McIntosh had earlier produced the massive Challenger volume 12 on Polychaetes (1885). British Annelids is often used as a source of illustrations and one of the plates was recently copied by the journal Nature as its full-colour cover illustration. Influential and wide- ranging writers of other nationalities include Grube, Quatrefages, Saint-Joseph, Ehlers, Augener, Fauvel, Gravier, Moore, Munro, Treadwell, and Ushakov. There are many other early workers with important contributions to particular families or with studies of geographic regions.

Every polychaetologist going a little further back into the past soon encounters the many valuable taxonomic monographs of Olga Hartman and also her species catalogues published in various Allan Hancock Foundation series (and the 1951 bibliography, Literature of the Polychaetous Annelids). Other important series of taxonomic papers are those of Marion Pettibone (and some of Kristian Fauchald's) in Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, Gesa Hartmann-Schröder's papers appearing in Helgolander Meeresuntersuchungen and in Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologisches Museum und Institut, also Minoru Imajima's many papers in Bulletin of the National Science Museum (Tokyo), and so on.

Marine polychaete worms of the New England region. I. Aphroditidae through Trochochaetidae.
MH Pettibone, 1963

It's back in print! (OK, it's a little outside the thirty year range). Available from the Smithsonian (Bull. 227).

A Monograph on the Polychaeta of Southern Africa. JH Day, 1967

A classic! Still valuable today. Sadly the revised edition that was prepared remains unpublished. Published in 2 vols by the British Museum.

Atlas of the Errantiate/Sedentariate Polychaetous Annelids from California. O Hartman, 1968-69

An innovative summary in a distinctive format and binding. Published in 2 vols by the Allan Hancock Foundation.

Annelida, Borstenwurmer, Polychaeta. G Hartmann- Schröder, 1971

Polychaetes of the North Sea and Baltic. Published as vol 58 of Die Tierwelt Deutschlands by Gustav Fischer Verlag. A new edition was published in 1996.

Taxonomic guide to the polychaetes of the northern Gulf of Mexico.
JM Uebelacker, PG Johnson eds, 1984

The first of the cost-driven trend to plastic loose-leaf binding. A very useful overview, particularly of some lesser-known families. Published in 7 vols by Barry A. Vittor and Associates.

Synopses of the British Fauna. DM Kermack, RSK Barnes eds, 1985-91.

Smallish paperbacks, each covering a few families, intended as an 11 volume set on polychaetes. Volumes published so far are: v.32 on Amphinomida, Spintherida and Eunicida by JD George and G Hartmann- Schröder; v.44 on interstitial families by W Westheide; v.45 on Phyllodocoideans, Typholoscolecoideans and Tomopteroideans by F Pleijel and RP Dales, v.54 on Chrysopetaloidea, Pisionoidea and Aphroditoidea (1997) by SJ Chambers and AI Muir. Available from Backhuys Publishers in The Netherlands.

Taxonomic Atlas (previews here) of the benthic fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel.
JA Blake et al. 1994-6.

Four polychaete volumes are planned. Volumes 4 and 5 covering the "errant" families and vol 6 covering Orbiniidae to Cossuridae have already been published. Volume 7 covering Flabelligeridae to Ampharetidae is imminent. Published by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Polychaete coverage in general faunas

Important chapters in regional marine faunas include those by Bailey-Brock et al. (1987) in Reef and Shore fauna of Hawaii, and the Knight-Joneses (1990) in Marine Fauna of the British Isles and North-West Europe.

How could the Pink Book not be mentioned?

Probably the most used and puzzled-over polychaete reference of modern times. Essential reading! The Polychaete worms Definitions and keys to the Orders, Families and Genera by K Fauchald, 1977.
A new edition is in preparation.
The original edition is still available from the Director, Retail Stores, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, Tel 213 763-3480, fax 213 746-4803. The price is US $15 plus postage & packing.

A different approach:

Polychaetes & Allies: The Southern Synthesis. Fauna of Australia. Vol. 4A Polychaeta, Myzostomida, Pogonophora, Echiura, Sipuncula. Multi-authored and edited by Beesley, P. L.; Ross, G. B.; Glasby, C. J. 2000, part of the Fauna of Australia series. Melbourne, CSIRO Publishing.
The standard of publishing is simply superb, and the series is influential world-wide. The Polychaeta section is 296 pages. Price US $120. Orders may be placed online at CSIRO Publishing, at the Fauna of Australia description of the book page, which has more details. The coverage is not a summary of described Australian species as might be expected from the series title, but rather a family by family broad overview of known biology and morphology, preceded by reviews of the higher classification, history of discovery in Australia, morphology and physiology, natural history, methods of study, biogeography, fossil record, and phylogeny. [See also book-reviews page.]

Some textbook overviews of aspects of polychaete biology

Classe des Annélides Polychètes Annelida Polychaeta (Grube, 1851). Fauvel, P., 1959 In: Grassé, P.-P. ed. Traité de Zoologie. Anatomie, Systématique, Biologie. Paris, Masson et Cie. Vol. 5. Pp. 13-196.

Encyclopedia-style classic volume.

Worms. Howell, B. F., 1962, In: Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part W. Miscellanea. Conodonts, conoidal shells of uncertain affinities, worms, tracefossils and problematica. Geological Society of America and Univ. Kansas Press. p. 144-177.

Annelids. Dales, R. P., 1963, London, Hutchinson University Library. 1st ed [2nd Ed 1967]

Annelida: Class Polychaeta section. Hartman, O. 1963, In: Encyclopedia Britannica p. 1003-1010.

The Annelid article in the Britannica 1874 edition was prepared by McIntosh.

Chemical Zoology, Volume IV. Annelida, Echiura, and Sipuncula. Florkin, M., & B. T. Scheer. 1969, (Eds), Academic Press., New York, 548 pp.

Annelida: Polychaeta. Schroeder, P. C.; Hermans, C. O., 1975 In: Giese, A. C.; Pearse, J. S. ed. Reproduction of Marine Invertebrates, Vol. 3 Annelids and echiurans. London, Academic Press. Pp. 1-213

Physiology of Annelids. Mill, P. J., 1978, Academic Press. 683 pp

Polychaeta. Pettibone, M. H., 1982 In: Parker, S.P. (Ed.) Synopsis and classification of living organisms. Volume 2. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1-1232. p 3-43

Biology of the Integument Vol. 1 Invertebrates. Bereiter-Hahn, J., A.G. Matoltsy and K.S. Richards (eds.), 1984, Springer-Verlag.

Contains a chapter on chaetae by Paul Schroeder. Possibly there is other relevant content.

The Ultrastructure of Polychaeta. Westheide, W., & C. O. Hermans, 1988. Microfauna Marina, Vol. 4. VCH Publishers, Inc. and Gustav Fischer Verlag, New York, Stuttgart.

Annelida: Polychaeta. Schroeder, P. C. 1989. p. 383-442, In: K. G. Adiyodi and R. G. Adiyodi (eds.), Reproductive Biology of Invertebrates, Vol. 4. Fertilization, development, and parental care, Part A. 463 pp. John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester.

Microscopic anatomy of invertebrates. Volume 7: Annelida. Harrison, F.W. & Gardiner, S.L. (Eds), 1992, Wiley-Liss, New York, 418 pp.

The Annelida. Rouse, G. 1999. p. 174-203, In: D. T. Anderson (ed.), Invertebrate Zoology, Oxford University Press, Australia, Melbourne (467 pp).

The most recent textbook-style treatment. It incorporates the pogonophorans as Family Siboglinidae within the polychaetes, and has Echiura retained outside annelids meantime. Its classification of Polychaeta follows Rouse & Fauchald 1997.

Reproductive Strategies and Developmental Patterns in Annelids. 1999. Edited by Adriaan W.C. Dorresteijn and Wilfried Westheide. Papers by 26 specialists originally published in Hydrobiologia 402, and reprinted as a book by Kluwer. ( Table of Contents link )

A few major review papers devoted to polychaete biology

These are papers not from edited books. Other important reviews of topics, but where polychaetes figure prominently alongside non-annelids have not been included here, nor have shorter reviews less than about 20 pages long, and nor have reviews devoted to particular families. Given those criteria a reminder about any relevant missing works would be welcome.

Goodrich, E. S. 1945: The study of nephridia and genital ducts since 1895. Quarterly Journal of the Microscopical Society of London 86: 113-392.

A classic paper. It's almost entirely devoted to Polychaeta, or at least Annelida.

Hanson, J. 1949. The histology of the blood system in Oligochaeta and Polychaeta.— Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 24:127-173.

Berrill, N. J. 1952. Regeneration and budding in worms.— Biological Reviews, 27:401-438.

Clark, R. B. 1961. The origin and formation of the Heteronereis.— Biological Reviews, 36:199-236.

Clark, R. B. 1965. Endocrinology and the reproductive biology of polychaetes.— Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review, 3:211-255.

Evans, S. M. 1971. Behaviour in polychaetes.— Quarterly Review of Biology, 46:379-405.

Clark, R. B., & P. J. W. Olive. 1973. Recent advances in polychaete endocrinology and reproductive biology.— Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review, 11:175-222.

Fauchald, K., & P. A. Jumars. 1979. The diet of worms: a study of polychaete feeding guilds.— Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review, 17:193-284.

Bhaud, M., & C. Cazaux. 1987. Description and identification of polychaete larvae, their implications in current biological problems.— Oceanis., 13:595-753.

Jamieson, B. G. M., & G. W. Rouse. 1989. The spermatozoa of the Polychaeta (Annelida): an ultrastructural review.— Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 64:93-157.

Gaill, F., & S. Hunt. 1991. The biology of annelid worms from high temperature hydrothermal vent regions.— Reviews in Aquatic Sciences, 4:107-137,illustr.

Purschke, G. 1997. Ultrastructure of nuchal organs in polychaetes (Annelida) - New results and review.— Acta Zoologica, 78:123-143.

Giangrande, A. 1997. Polychaete reproductive patterns, life cycles and life histories: an overview. — Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review, 35:323-386.

Martin, D., & T. A. Britayev. 1998. Symbiotic polychaetes: review of known species.— Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review, 36:217-340.

Suggestions for improvements, corrections, and additions welcome. Original 1996. Last update 3 June 2000. Please look in again soon.

Return to top