This paper is the conclusion of the “Spaghetti Project” aiming to revise French species of Terebellidae sensu lato (s.l.) belonging to the five families: Polycirridae, Telothelepodidae, Terebellidae sensu stricto (s.s.), Thelepodidae and Trichobranchidae. During this project, 41 species were observed, 31 of them new for science: eight species of Polycirridae, eleven species of Terebellidae s.s., three species of Thelepodidae and nine species of Trichobranchidae. We provide a comprehensive key for all European species of terebellids with a focus on the important diagnostic characters for each family. Finally, we discuss issues on taxonomy, biodiversity and cryptic and pseudo-cryptic species of polychaetes in European waters, based on results obtained during this project.

We provide an overview of the World Amphipoda Database (WAD), a global species database that is part of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Launched in 2013, the database contains entries for over 10,500 accepted species names. Edited currently by 31 amphipod taxonomists, following WoRMS priorities, the WAD has at least one editor per major group. All accepted species are checked by the editors, as is the authorship available for all of the names. The higher classification is documented for every species and a type species is recorded for every genus name. This constitutes five of the 13 priorities for completion, set by WoRMS. In 2015, five LifeWatch grants were allocated for WAD activities. These included a general training workshop in 2016, together with data input for the superfamily Lysianassoidea and for a number of non-marine groups. Philanthropy grants in 2019 and 2021 covered more important gaps across the whole group. Further work remains to complete the linking of unaccepted names, original descriptions, and environmental information. Once these tasks are completed, the database will be considered complete for 8 of the 13 priorities, and efforts will continue to input new taxa annually and focus on the remaining priorities, particularly the input of type localities. We give an overview of the current status of the order Amphipoda, providing counts of the number of genera and species within each family belonging to the six suborders currently recognized.

Biological invasions are one of the main global threats to biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems worldwide, requiring effective inventorying and monitoring programs. Here, we present an updated list of non-indigenous species in French marine and transitional waters. Focused on eukaryote pluricellular species found throughout the three metropolitan French marine regions (Western Mediterranean Sea, Bay of Biscay and the Northern Seas), a total of 342 non-indigenous, including 42 cryptogenic, species are listed as having been introduced since the 13th century. The majority of the species originated from the temperate Northern Pacific. They mainly arrived through both ballast and hull fouling and also are associated with shellfish farming activities. Most of them have been introduced since the 1970s, a time when maritime and aquaculture trade intensified. Despite important human-aided opportunities for species transfer between the three marine regions (for instance, via recreational boating or aquaculture transfers), only a third of these NIS are common to all regions, as expected due to their environmental specificities.