See pages Po. 1 Introduction and Po. 4 Morphology for Polychaeta and identification. Eight families of holoplanktonic polychaetes have been recorded from the South Atlantic Ocean (below in bold). Pontodora pelagica has not yet been recorded in this region, and it belongs to a monogeneric and monospecific family, Pontodoridae. The phylogenetically isolated polychaete Poeobius meseres has only been found in the North Pacific Ocean.
Outline classification
Phylum Annelida
Class Polychaeta
Order Phyllodocida Clark, 1969
Family Alciopidae Ehlers, 1864
Genus Alciopa Audouin and Milne Edwards, 1833
Genus Alciopina Claparède and Panceri, 1867
Genus Krohnia Quatrefages, 1866
Genus Naiades Delle Chiaje, 1830
Genus Plotohelmis Chamberlin, 1919
Genus Pseudalciopa Støp-Bowitz, 1991
Genus Rhynchonerella Costa, 1864
Genus Torrea Quatrefages, 1850
Genus Vanadis Claparède, 1870
Genus Watelio Støp-Bowitz, 1948
Family Iospilidae Bergström, 1914
Genus Iospilus Viguier, 1886
Genus Phalacrophorus Greeff, 1879
Family Lopadorhynchidae Claparède, 1870
Genus Lopadorhynchus Grube, 1855
Genus Maupasia Viguier, 1886
Genus Pedinosoma Reibisch, 1895
Genus Pelagobia Greeff, 1879
Family Pontodoridae Bergström, 1914
Genus Pontodora Greeff, 1879
Family Tomopteridae Grube, 1848
Genus Tomopteris Eschscholtz, 1825
Family Typhloscolecidae Uljanin, 1878
Genus Sagitella Wagner, 1872
Genus Travisiopsis Levinsen, 1885
Genus Typhloscolex Busch, 1851
Family Yndolaciidae Støp-Bowitz, 1987
Genus Yndolacia Støp-Bowitz, 1987
Order Fauvelopsida Fauchald, 1977
Family Flotidae Buzhinskaya 1996
Genus Flota Hartman, 1967