Abstract

Fifteen species in seven genera of Cirratulidae are reported from shallow-water collections in the Caribbean Sea primarily as part of the Caribbean I expedition of the research vessel Alpha Helix in 1977 and smaller separate collections from Panama and Venezuela. Thirteen species, all bitentaculates, are new to science. New species include Aphelochaeta caribbeanensis n. sp.; six species of Caulleriella: C. angusticrista n. sp., C. convexacapa n. sp., C. microbidentata n. sp., C. parapicula n. sp., C. parvinasa n. sp., and C. quadrata n. sp.; Chaetozone dossena n. sp.; three species of Kirkegaardia: K. filiformis n. sp., K. panamaensis n. sp., and K. playita n. sp.; and two species of Dodecaceria: D. alphahelixae n. sp. and D. dibranchiata n. sp. Additionally, two multitentaculate cirratulids, Cirriformia sp. from Panama and Timarete punctata (Grube, 1859) from Nicaragua are reported.