THE POLYCHAETE FAUNA OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS By P. E. GIBBS CONTENTS Page SYNOPSIS ........... ioi INTRODUCTION ........ . ioi GENERAL ACCOUNT .......... 102 COMPOSITION OF THE POLYCHAETE FAUNA AND ITS ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL AFFINITIES .......... 104 ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS Littoral survey . . . . . . . . . in Dredge survey of Marovo Lagoon . . . . . . 114 Commensal polychaetes . . . . . . . . 116 Brackish water and terrestrial species . . . . . 117 Spawning of Eunice (Palola) siciliensis . . . . . 118 SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT . . . . . . . . . 119 REFERENCES ........... 205 SYNOPSIS An account of the polychaete fauna of the Solomon Islands (western Pacific Ocean) is given, based on a large collection which was obtained during the Royal Society Expedition in 1965. A total of 220 species are recorded. Two new genera (Family Nereidae), 13 new species and 3 new subspecies are described. The zoogeographical affinities of the fauna are analysed and certain ecological aspects discussed. INTRODUCTION As pointed out by Knox (1958), the polychaetes of the Pacific Islands are poorly known and much work remains to be done before a relatively complete bio-geographical analysis can be made. Apart from reports on small collections or individual families, comprehensive accounts of the polychaetes from any of the island groups in the tropical west Pacific regions are few. Augener (19270) records 47 species from New Britain and Fauvel (1947) describes about 100 species from New Caledonia. The fauna of the Marshall Islands is comparatively well known with 131 species recorded as a result of the work of Hartman (1954) and, more recently, of Reish (1968). The Solomon Islands are situated between the latitudes of 5S and 12 S and between the longitudes of 155 E and 163 E. From the zoogeographical viewpoint these islands are of great interest since they lie between the faunistic centre of the
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