A new genus and two new species of groundwater paramelitid amphipods from the Pilbara, Western Australia: a combined molecular and morphological approach

Abstract

The Pilbara region of Western Australia hosts a diverse fauna in the groundwater, the majority being crustaceans. Specimens of a highly morphologically distinct paramelitid amphipod, clearly representing a new genus, were collected from three tributaries of the Fortescue River basin in the Pilbara. The present study utilised a combined approach, employing molecular markers and morphological characters to assess variation in the new genus and previously described genera of Paramelitidae from the Pilbara. Both molecular and morphological analyses confi rmed the distinctiveness of the new specimens, resulting in the description of two new species, Maarrka weeliwollii and M. etheli.