Syllidae (Annelida, Polychaeta) from the Caribbean coast of Venezuela

Venezuela possesses a great variety of coastal environments allowing for a high diversity of marine species. However, systematic studies on marine invertebrates are scarce, especially on polychaetes. The family Syllidae is poorly known, and only 14 genera and 42 species have been reported from this country. A total of 13 genera and 26 species the Syllidae were identified from benthic samples collected on different substrata of the northeastern coast of Venezuela. Of these, seven genera and 16 species constitute new records for Venezuela: Odontosyllis guillermoi, Syllides floridanus, Salvatoria clavata, S. limbata, Sphaerosyllis longicauda, Parapionosyllis longicirrata, Typanosyllis parvidentata, T vittigera, Opisthatyllis sp., Syllis amica, S. armillaris, S. gracilis, S. pseudoarmillaris, S. vittata, Parasphaerosyllis indica and Myrianida convoluta.