New Phreodrilidae (Annelida: Clitellata) from Tasmanian estuaries

Abstract

A new species of Phreodrilidae from Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania is described. Astacopsidrilus ostiensis sp. nov. is unique in possessing the combination of long, tightly folded atria, modified spermarhecal chaetae and ventral chaetae that are almost simple pointed. These are the first phreodrilids to be recorded from estuarine or intertidal habitats, other than two species collected from beaches, on Subantarctic Campbell Island, for which the habitat data are ambiguous. The existence of other Phreodrilidae from Tasmanian estuaries, of which we do not have sufficient material for description, is noted.