Polychaetes from Fijian Coral Reefs

Abstract

Nineteen polychaete species belonging to five families, and representatives of two others not identified to species, are recorded from Viti Levu, Fiji. Most of the calcareous tubeworms (Serpulidae, Spirorbidae) were collected from shallow patch reefs in the Mba Passage off the northwest coast; the remaining worms came from the intertidal region of Suva Harbor on the southeast coast of Viti Levu. The tubeworms Spirobranchus giganteus corniculatus and Floriprotis sabiuraensis were collected with live coral, and 12species were scraped from coral rock. Extensive patches of a gregarious sabellariid occur in Suva Harbor, and nereidids and spionids were found among the densely packed sabellariid tubes. Polychaetes in this collection are most similar to faunas of eastern Australia, Japan, Hawaii, and Tonga, and least similar to those of the Societies, Marquesas, and Tuamotus. These faunal affinities show a west to east trend reflecting Ekman's rule, but could also be explained on the basis of sampling effort.