Abstract

Capilloventer antarcticus sp. nov., from the Weddell Sea (Antarctica), and C. australis sp. nov., from low-salinity habitats in the Hawkesbury estuary near Sydney, Australia, are described. Both species are similar 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 sensu Jamieson). The morphology and arrangement of its somatic setae resemble those of some polychaetes. Both the dorsolateral and the ventrolateral bundles contain hair setae as well as bifid or single-pointed crotchets and, in each segment, the bundles of one side are located closely together and widely separated from those of the other side.