Protodrilidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) from the Hawaiian Islands and Comparison with Specimens from French Polynesia

Three species of Protodrilidae were collected from the islands of O‘ahu and Ni‘ihau in the Hawaiian chain, including specimens closely resembling Parenterodrilus taenioides (Jouin, 1979), described from Mo‘orea (French Polynesia). Others are probably an undescribed species of Parenterodrilus that was found in fine sand substrate collected off Wai‘anae, O‘ahu. A third species, Protodrilus albicans Jouin, 1970, described from Banyuls-sur-Mer (Mediterranean Sea) and recorded from Mo‘orea and Tahiti as well, was also collected from O‘ahu. Depths and habitat characteristics are given for these new records to the Hawaiian fauna. It is suggested that the wide geographical distribution of the different “cosmopolitan species” of Protodrilidae is related both to the dispersal by free-swimming larvae and to the ancient origin of this interstitial fauna.