First records of polychaetes new to Egyptian Mediterranean waters

Abstract Nineteen benthic polychaete species were recorded for the first time in the intertidal zone of the Alexandria coast, south-eastern Mediterranean Sea. They belong to Syllidae (7 species), Hesionidae (3 species), Serpulidae (2 species) and 7 other families (one species each). Of these species Eunice miurai Carrera-Parra & Salazar-Vallejo 1998 appears to be new to the Mediterranean Sea, while four of the alien species earlier recorded in the Mediterranean were found for the first time in Egyptian waters: Opisthosyllis brunnea Langerhans 1879, Loimia medusa Savigny 1822, Syllis schulzi Hartmann-Schroder 1960, Phyllodoce longifrons Ben-Eliahu 1972. The newly recorded species demonstrated markedly different patterns of frequency of occurrence and numerical abundance. Spirobranchus triqueter Linnaeus 1758, S. schulzi , L. medusa and Salvatoria clavata Claparede 1863 were permanent and abundant species in fouling samples along the Alexandria coast. Saccocirrus papillocercus Bobretzky 1872 persisted in the sediments at two sites, with a much higher count at the stressed one, while Protodrilus sp. inhabited sediments at two other sites throughout the year, sometimes in very high numbers. In addition, the alien species found earlier, Brania arminii Langerhans 1881, Odontosyllis fulgurans Audouin & Milne-Edwards 1833 and O. brunnea Langerhans 1879, were frequently observed along the Alexandria coast.