Two species of Lumbricillus (Enchytraeidae, Annelida) new to Antarctica

• Published in: Polar Research
• Main Authors: Jeounghee Lee, Mårten Klinth, Jongwoo Jung
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2019
• Subjects: King George Island; Clitellata; Lumbricillus sejongensis sp. nov; Lumbricillus antarcticus; intertidal fauna; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Oceanography; GC1-1581; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Barton; Barton Peninsula; Stephenson; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; antarcticus; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3325; https://doaj.org/article/aaf92cda4e7a40d7880b8634cb5ce0a4

The intertidal fauna of the Antarctic Peninsula has a relatively high species diversity, due to its warmer environment compared to other parts of Antarctica. Marine oligochaetes are, in general, one of the most diverse and ecologically important benthic organism groups, at least in the littoral zone. Antarctica has been one of the least studied areas with regard to oligochaete diversity. Here we report two Lumbricillus species (Lumbricillus antarcticus Stephenson, 1932 and Lumbricillus sejongensis sp. nov.) new to Antarctica, found in a tidal pool on the Barton Peninsula, King George Island. The diversity of this genus remains poorly known for Antarctica and the Subantarctic islands, and what we know is based on a few patchy studies.