A Checklist of Polychaete Species from Korean Waters (Annelida): Present Status and Taxonomic Prospects

초록

A checklist for the marine polychaetes from South Korean waters is presented for the first time. The inventory is based on recent systematic literatures from published records in various locations around South Korean waters and their scientific names were confirmed from the database of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS, http://www.marinespecies.org/). The locations included the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, which, including all its islands, lies between latitudes 33° and 39°N, and longitudes 124° and 130°E. This survey of the literature reveals that 318 polychaete species, belonging to 45 families and 184 genera, have been recorded. 43% of the checklist species are represented by top five families as follows: Nereididae (39 species, mostly Nereis and Perinereis), Syllidae (38 species), Polyonidae (24 species), Maldanidae (18 species), and Spionidae (18 species). The least-represented families are Cossuridae, Euphrosinidae, Iphionidae, Paralacydoniidae, Magelonidae, Poecilochaetidae, Acrocirridae, Sternaspidae, including only one species. However, a more detailed and careful bibliographic analysis and the research effort spent in the recent period on the analysis of the world polychaete fauna suggest a serious revision of the Korean polychaetous fauna. For examples, ten species of the Family Glyderidae have been described from Korean waters including one new species, of which four species are only valid and other species are either erroneously identified, and therefore, taxonomic revision is urgent. Polychaetes play an important role in the functioning of benthic communities. And among benthic zoological groups, they are, in fact, one of the best indicators of environmental disturbance, since this taxon contains both sensitive and tolerant species in a gradient from pristine to heavily disturbed habitats. Then more efforts to study polychaetes are needed for a comprehensive understanding of their biodiversity and functioning.