An account of Alciopina, Torrea, and Rhyneonereella (Polychaeta : Alciopidae) of the western Caribbean Sea

Seven species of Alciopina Claparede & Panceri, Torrea Quatrefages, and Rhynconereella Costa were collected during five oceanographic cruises off the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, western Caribbean Sea. Descriptions and illustrations are provided here with an identification key. The most frequent species were Rhynchonereella petersii\_(Langerhans, 1880); Alciopina parasitica Claparede & Panceri, 1867; and A. paumotanus Chamberlin, 1919; which comprised 85\% of the alciopid numbers collected during this survey. These three genera currently contain nine species, of which seven were obtained in our samples from the western Caribbean. These are the first records of the Alciopidae in the western Caribbean Basin and in Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean.