maldanid polychaete Axiothella antarctica

Axiothella antarctica is found in Antarctica, Peter I Island and South Orkney Islands at depths from 18 to 344 meters [1,3,4,5].

Axiothella antarctica has an oblique head plate with a continuous edge (shown here) [6].

Axiothella sp. is a deposit feeder and can be found in the McMurdo jetty soft-bottom community, living head-down in a tube buried in the sediment [8]. A study examined the gut contents of Axiothella sp. and found diatoms, sediment, and amorphous material [8].

Here is the tail end of Axiothella antarctica.

Maldanid polychaetes incubate their eggs in mucus cocoons attached to the entrance of their burrows [7].

Antarctic polychaetes have a much higher percentage of unique species than polychaete faunas in other parts of the world [2].

1: Polychaeta Myzostomidae and Sedentaria of Antarctica. O Hartman. Antarctic Research Series Volume 7. Washington DC : American Geophysical Union of the National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, 1966; 2: Adaptations within Antarctic Ecosystems, Proceedings of the Third SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology. GA Llano, ed. Washington, DC : Smithsonian Institution, 1977. pp.1111-1127; 3: Kathleen Conlan, personal communication, 2000; 4: Polar Biology 17(3):199-210, 1997; 5: Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 102(4):866-871, 1989; 6: Discovery Reports 2:1-222, 1930; 7: Marine Invertebrates of Southern Australia, Part 1. SA Shepherd & IM Thomas. Adelaide, South Australia: DJ Woolman Government Printer, 1982; 8: Ophelia 24(3):155-175, 1985

Text ©Peter Brueggeman. Photograph ©Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan). Photograph may not be used in any form without the express written permission of Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan).