A REEXAMINATION OF GRANIA-MONOCHAETA (MICHAELSEN) (OLIGOCHAETA, ENCHYTRAEIDAE), WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF 2 NEW SPECIES FROM SUB-ANTARCTIC SOUTHGEORGIA

A comparative study of some syntypes of Grania monochaeta (Michaelsen, 1888) deposited in Italy, and all other material referred to this spe cies, including some found in Beddard's collection at the Natural Hist ory Museum in London, shows that three distinct species are involved. Both Michaelsen's syntypes and the material from Beddard's collection contain a mixture of the true G. monochaeta, whose description is here augmented, and specimens referable to a taxon described by Erseus and Lasserre in 1977. For the latter (here named G. lasserrei sp. n.), ad ditional distinctive characters and an extended variation of the setal distribution are described. The worms studied by Stephenson (in 1932) belong to a third species, G. stephensoniana sp, n., whose descriptio n is also augmented. The taxonomic confusion associated with G. monoch aeta is discussed. Due to the lack of records of Grania in the neighbo uring regions, the biogeography of the South Georgian assemblage is fa r from understood. From the knowledge presently available, G. lasserre i sp. n. and G. stephensoniana sp. n. exhibit their closest affinities to High Antarctic taxa.