First records of Lacydonia eliasoni Hartmann-Schröder, 1996 (Polychaeta: Phyllodocida) in the European Arctic

• Published in: Polish Polar Research
• Main Authors: Mazurkiewicz Mikołaj, Gromisz Sławomira, Legeżyńska Joanna, Włodarska-Kowalczuk Maria
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polish Academy of Sciences 2017
• Subjects: Arctic; Spitsbergen; Polychaeta; Lacydonia; range extension; Geology; QE1-996.5; Svalbard; Norway; Kongsfjord*; Kongsfjorden; Northern Norway; Polar Research; Smeerenburg
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/popore-2017-0011; https://doaj.org/article/2a5a63b70dab43d5aea67c9f3d23043a

Lacydonia (Polychaeta: Phyllodocida) is a poorly known genus containing 16 species that are sporadically collected in low densities all over the world oceans. During three cruises (in June 2014 in Ullsfjorden, northern Norway, in January 2015 in Kongsfjorden, and in June 2012 in Smeerenburg, Svalbard) nine specimens of Lacydonia eliasoni were found on sandy and muddy sediments at depths from 180 to 350 m. All specimens were incomplete and consisted of 10 to 29 chaetigers. This study presents the first record of the Lacydonia genus in the waters of Svalbard as well as the first record of L. eliasoni in coastal waters off northern Norway. This species has been reported previously in the Skagerrak and Trondheimsfjorden (southern Norway), our findings therefore may indicate a northward extension of its range, possibly due to climate changes.