The benthic polychaetous annelids collected from the Indian Ocean by scientists participating in the International Indian Ocean Expedition, 1963-64, are named; 244 specific categories are indicated and 116 species are considered new to the fauna of the area. Sixteen species are newly described; they are:
Allmaniella nuchalis
Harmothoe branchiata
Hermadion africanus
Scalisetosus glabrus
Tambalagamia orientalis
Aglaophamus longicephalus
Goniada asiatica
Diopatra bengalensis
Lumbrineris inhacae
Paraprionospio lamellibranchia
Polydora peristomialis
Disoma cirrifera
Cossurella dimorpha
Fauveliopsis arabica
Leiochrides branchiatus
Mediomastus caudatus
Two species are newly named; they are:
Cossura day and
Drilonereis monroi. Two others are new combinations, they are:
Anaitides sancti-josephi, previously
Phyllodoce, and
Peisidice dorsipapillata, previously
Pholoe.
The following genera or groups are indicated as represented by unnamed species:
Pionosyllis
Goniada
Ninoe
Aricidea
Polydora
Cossurella
ampharetid
terebellid, abranchiate
Seven family names are newly added to the Fauna of India; they are:
PEISIDICIDAE, with genus Peisidice
SPINTHERIDAE, with genus Spinther
SPHAERODORIDAE, with genus Clavadorum
PARAONIDAE, with genera Aricidea and Paraonis
HETEROSPIONIDAE, with genus Heterospio
ACROCIRRIDAE, with genus Acroclrrus
COSSURIDAE, with genera Cossura and Cossurella.
Diversity and vertical zonation in benthic polychaetes are expressed in three kinds of samples: 1. those coming from the Arabian Sea in 24 unmeasured lots, from intertidal depths to 357 m; 2. eight measured samples coming from estuarine or near shore samples from coastal areas, processed through finer screens than used in other samples, and 3. species named from depths of 250 m or more, documented in the literature.
The catalogue of the Polychaetous Annelids from India lists 883 species. The polychaete fauna of the Indian Ocean may thus be considered to represent the largest of known tropical faunas of this kind.
The Bibliography is intended to be complete for India, as an Appendix to the references cited by Fauvel, 1953, in Fauna of India.