Larval development of Boccardia knoxi, a shell-infesting spionid polychaete

Larvae of Boccardia knoxi (Rainer) were reared in the laboratory after diss ection from brood capsules extracted from the outer shell and periostracum of Cookia sulcata and Haliotis iris collected from Tasman Bay, New Zealand. All the eggs within each brood capsule developed into embryos. The dissect ed larvae had provisional setae and fed on phytoplankton. Larval developmen t is described through to metamorphosis.