Spionidae (Polychaeta) of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea

Although there have been several collections of polychaetous annelids from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, very few spionids have been included in the published species lists. This is not because they are poorly represented in this area but probably a result of their small size and the fact that they are easily overlooked both in collecting and in sorting of samples. It is also probable that their small size renders them an unpopular group with which to work. Very few spionids were reported from collections of the early large scale collecting cruises. This can be, at least in part, attributed to the fact that they are more common in littoral habitats than in deeper waters. SCHMARDA (1861) reported three species as a result of his world cruise (1853—57) during which he visited several Caribbean Islands. TREADWELL (1901, 1931a + b, 1939a, 1939b) reported only three species and this included his treatment of the annelids collected during the Scientific Survey of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Other contributions include works by AUGENER (1906, 1927, 1933), HORST (1922), KAVANAGH (1940) and BEHRE (1950). HARTMAN (1951) reported on a collection of littoral polychaetes from the Gulf of Mexico. The latter included what is probably the largest number of spionids dealt with in a single study up to that time. Twelve species were reported, most of which represented new records. Later, small papers were contributed by CARPENTER (1956) from the northern Gulf, FRIEDRICH (1956) from Central and South America and WESENBERG-LUND (1958) from the Lesser Antilles. Finally in 1962, JONES reported on a collection of polychaetes from Jamaica which included two spionid species.