New records of hard-bottom polychaete species in the central Adriatic Sea

Abstract

      Adriatic Sea is a diverse marine ecosystem that supports a rich biodiversity of polychaete species on soft and hard-bottoms, with 764 recorded species in the latest inventory list. Benthic surveys conducted in 2018 in the hard-bottom infralittoral zone on the east coast of the central Adriatic Sea revealed one previously unreported species for the Adriatic Sea, Syllis kabilica Ben-Eliahu, 1977 (Syllidae), as well as two species reported for the first time in the eastern Adriatic Sea, Syllis tyrrhena (Licher and Kuper, 1998) (Syllidae), and Streblosoma nogueirai Lezzi and Giangrande, 2019 (Terebellidae). Furthermore, one alien species was identified, Lysidice collaris Grube, 1868 (Eunicidae). These findings provide new insights into the distribution and diversity of polychaete fauna in the Adriatic Sea.