Polychaeta

The polychaetes from Andamans available in the Indian Museum collections were described by Fauvel (1932) and subsequently incorporated in the Fauna of India Series by the same author in which he describes 90 species from these Islands. Subsequently many studies have been conducted in Andaman and Nicobar Islands for the exploration of this faunal group.

Recently Rajasekaran and Fernando (2010) identified 30 more species under 23 genera and 8 families. All of them were new record to this archipelago and 15 species new to Indian waters. The work also includes an up to date list of polychaetes so far recorded from Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Number of families: 29

Number of genera: 107

Number of Species: 191

The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. 

More than 10,000 species are described in this class. Common representatives include the lugworm (Arenicola marina) and the sandworm or clam worm Nereis (Source: Wikipedia)