A sea of worms: polychaete checklist of the Adriatic Sea

The checklist of polychaetes of the Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean) based on bibliographic sources published from 1840 to 2014, as well as on novel data, with 49 new records for the area, is herein presented. The Adriatic Sea polychaete fauna comprises at present of 764 species in 360 genera and 62 families. The richest family is the Syllidae, with 112 species (c.a. 15% of the all taxa). Eight families account for as much as 50% of the diversity (Syllidae, Serpulidae, Sabellidae, Phyllodocidae, Spionidae, Polynoidae, Terebellidae and Nereididae). Among the three Adriatic sectors (Northern, Central and Southern Adriatic), the Northern Adriatic is the richest one, whereas the composition of the most diverse families is very similar in all sectors. Data on endemisms (6), aliens (29) and valid species with the type locality in the Adriatic Sea (90) are also discussed. The list of all relevant papers citing each species in the Adriatic is included, allowing future detailed information retrievals for distinct purposes. Results suggest that the number of species will keep increasing in the future, as new surveys will be undertaken, so regular updates of the present list will be necessary.