New species of bathyal and abyssal Sabellariidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) from near New Caledonia (southwest Pacific Ocean)

Specimen described in this work were collected during the BIOCAL and BIOGEOCAL cruises (Biology and Geology of New Caledonia) in 1985 and 1987 conducted by the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (Paris, France). All of the 488 specimens collected from depths between 440 m and 1870 m belong to the subfamily Lygdaminae Kirtley, 1994, which is characterized by the presence of four parathoracic segments. Among these specimens, we recognize four genera, including Bathysabellaria Lechapt & Gruet, 1993 with two species, a new species of Lygdamis Kinberg, 1867, two new species of Phalacrostemma Marenzeller, 1895, and a new species of Tetreres Caullery, 1913. All of these species are set apart from other known species by the shape of the outer and inner paleae and by their geographic and bathymetric distributions. These collections illustrate the uniqueness and richness of the polychaete fauna of the Sabellariidae of this Pacific area.