TAXONOMY OF CAPILLOVENTER(CAPILLOVENTRIDAE), A LITTLE-KNOWN GROUP OF AQUATIC OLIGOCHAETA, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF 2 NEW SPECIES

Capilloventer antarcticus sp. nov., from the Weddell Sea (Antarctica), and C. australis sp. nov., from low-salinity habitats in the Hawkesbu ry estuary near Sydney, Australia, are described. Both species are sim ilar to C. atlanticus Harman and Loden, from Brazil, hitherto the only known member of the family Capilloventridae. Capilloventer appears to be representative of the most ancestral Clitellata (Euclitellata sens u Jamieson). The morphology and arrangement of its somatic setae resem ble those of some polychaetes. Both the dorsolateral and the ventrolat eral bundles contain hair setae as well as bifid or single-pointed cro tchets and, in each segment, the bundles of one side are located close ly together and widely separated from those of the other side.