New records of annelids from banco de las Ánimas, Colombian Caribbean

Nuevos registros de anélidos del banco de las Ánimas, Caribe colombiano

Abstract

The banco de las Ánimas is a poor studied underwater environment with a characteristic reef fauna and an unknown large number of cryptic species. Annelids are one of the most common invertebrate groups in the coral formations of the Colombian Caribbean; these organisms are very abundant and variable in their body shapes  (parapodia, setae, and gill structures), which imply a great evolutionary
radiation. In order to know the diversity of annelids in the reef ecosystem in the Banco de las Ánimas, four artificial structures (known as
autonomous reef monitoring structures) used as fauna collectors were located at a depth of 14 m in the Montículo sector. The first records
for the Colombian Caribbean of 23 species of annelids of the families Amphinomidae, Eunicidae, Polynoidae, Lumbrineridae, Sabellidae,
Serpulidae, Sigalionidae, Syllidae, and Terebellidae. The contribution to the knowledge of the fauna of reef annelids of a little poor known
area of the Colombian Caribbean is highlighted.