ATLANTIC AND MEDITERRANEAN SPECIES OF THE GENUS ANDANIEXIS STEBBING (AMPHIPODA, STEGOCEPHALIDAE)

The Atlantic and Mediterranean species of the genus Andaniexis Stebbin g, 1906 (Amphipoda: Stegocephalidae) are reviewed, and three new speci es are described. The species Andaniexis abyssi (Boeck, 1871) which pr eviously was considered a widely distributed species (from Baffin Bay to both Spitzbergen and the Skagerrak), is here divided into three spe cies: Andaniexis abyssi s.str., Andaniexis gracilis n.sp. and Andaniex is lupus n.sp. These species, together with Andaniexis mimonectes Ruff o, 1975, all have allopatric distributions. This is especially evident in northern Norway, where A. abyssi has its northernmost limit: A. ab yssi is found in Solbergfjorden (69 degrees 10'N), while Andaniexis lu pus is found in the adjacent fjord Malangen (69 degrees 30'N, the sout hern limit of this species along the Norwegian coast). Andaniexis eila e n.sp. is described from Iceland. This species is not closely related to the other North Atlantic species of the same genus.