Discovery of a new species of melita (Amphipoda: Melitidae) associated with barnea dilatata (Bivalvia, Mollusca) from South Korea

Abstract

During a survey on the bivalve Barnea dilatata (Souleyet, 1843), a new species of the melitid Amphipoda, Melita anmyeonensis n. sp., was found to be associated with the pholadid bivalve from South Korea. The bivalve, B. dilatata, lives within a mixed mud and sand substrate of the hard tidal flat of theWest Sea, South Korea. Melita anmyeonensis n. sp. was found between the gills and mantle cavity of the bivalve host. In this paper, we describe the new melitid and discuss the association between the amphipod and B. dilatata. To our knowledge, this is the first record of an association between a species of the genus Melita and a bivalve. © The Crustacean Society, 2013.