156 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. iis 



In addition to the literature, this study is based on collections in the 

 U.S. National Museum and additional material borrowed from the 

 following sources: Allan Hancock Foundation (AHF), through Dr. 

 Olga Hartman, including type material of 5 species; American Museum 

 of Natural History (AMNH), through Dr. Meredith Jones, including 

 type material of 2 species; Mr. Cj-ril Berkeley, Marine Biological 

 Station, Nanaimo, Canada, including tj-pe material of 2 species; Dr. 

 Koland Wigley, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Woods Hole, Alass.; 

 Mr. Pierre Brunei, Marine Biological Station, Gaspe, Canada. I 

 wish to express my deep appreciation to those mentioned for their 

 cooperation and loan of material. I am particularly grateful to Dr. 

 Marvin Wass for the opportunity of studying the pilargid material 

 from Virginia, which led into a much more extended study than had 

 been anticipated. 



This study was aided in part by a grant from the National Science 

 Foundation (NSF GS-1269). 



The genera that have been referred to the Pilargidae have had a 

 checkered history, as shown by table 1, which gives for each genus its 

 original placement in the Polychaeta and its subsequent disposition by 

 various polychaete workers. Not all polychaete authorities have 

 recognized the Pilargidae, referring the species instead to Hesionidae 

 (Ehlers, Chamberlin, Horst, Fauvel, Mesnil, Augener, Southern, 

 Monro, and Treadwell). Omitting the larval Harpochaeta and the 

 questionable Hermundura, 4 of the 12 remaining genera that have been 

 proposed were indicated to have doubtful family connections and were 

 placed in "genera incertae sedis"; 2 were placed in new families (Otop- 

 sidae and Kynephoridae), 3 were considered to be aberrant Syllidae, 

 1 was placed in the Hesionidae, and 2 in the Pilargidae. This further 

 emphasizes the heterogeneous and enigmatic characters of the family. 



The pilargid genera that have been generally recognized are Pilargis, 

 Ancistrosyllis, and Loandalia. As new species have been described, 

 they have for the most part been added to one of these three genera 

 and the groupings of species within the genera have become quite 

 heterogeneous. In this revision, I have attempted to define and limit 

 the genera more clearly, and I have made use of three additional 

 genera which have been either ignored or considered to be questionable: 

 (1) Sigambra Miiller, 1858, has been considered to be indeterminable, 

 but the figures and description of S. grubii seem to be sufficiently 

 detailed to be used. (2) Cabira Webster, 1879, a questionable genus 

 based on the confusing description of C. incerta, is reinstated, based 

 on recent material collected in Chesapeake Bay. (3) Synelmis 

 Chamberlin, 1919, with a single species, S. simplex, has been 

 previously overlooked. 



