INTERSTITIAL ANNELIDS FROM THE OCEANIC ISLAND OF SÃO MIGUEL (AZORES, PORTUGAL)

We here provided the first records of interstitial annelids from the Azores based on the results of the workshop "Meiozores2019: Exploring the marine meiofauna of the Azores - from discovery to scientific publication". A total of 12 species belonging to the families Diurodrilidae, Microphthalmidae, Nerillidae, Protodrilidae, and Saccocirridae were recorded based on light microscopical observations. We briefly discuss the occurrence of other interstitial groups, but their diversity is not reported in detail. Most of the species reported belong to widespread lineages and only one of them is unequivocally new to science although our discussion is limited due to lack of molecular data and detailed (electron and confocal laser scanning microscopy) morphological examinations. The comparison of our findings to published reports from other oceanic archipelagos around the world suggests that levels of island endemism in interstitial annelids are strongly influenced by the amount and scope of research performed in each archipelago. Thus, further information is needed to draw any biologically meaningful conclusion on patterns of diversity of interstitial annelids in oceanic islands.