Skip to main content

Panda shrimp (Melita panda), a black-and-white species of Melitidae (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from Japan

Panda shrimp (Melita panda), a black-and-white species of Melitidae (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from Japan

NEWS - A new member of the intertidal species Melita Leach, 1814 (Melitidae, Amphipoda), panda shrimp (Melita panda), was collected from Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The researchers used nuclear 28S rRNA and mitochondrial COI gene analyses to support that the new species is closely related to M. koreana and M. nagatai.

Melita is found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments and includes 63 species worldwide, of which 16 have been recorded in Japan. In the 1990s, Shigeyuki Yamato discovered an unidentified specimen of the distinctive black-and-white coloration in the intertidal zone of Wakayama Prefecture.

Recently, a large number of specimens have been collected by Ko Tomikawa of Hiroshima University and Hiroyuki Ariyama of the Osaka Museum of Natural History. Detailed morphological analysis revealed that these specimens have not been described before. Molecular phylogenetic analysis has been used to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among Melita species.

M. panda differs from M. koreana in having a black-and-white body coloration (vs. almost entirely gray), an anterodistal projection of the propodus of male gnathopod 1 that covers the dactylus (vs. not covering it completely), a propodus of male gnathopod 1 with three and one setae on the posterior edge and at the base of the anterodistal projection (vs. lacking but with a seta at the palmar corner) and a telson with lateral setae (vs. lacking).

M. panda differs from M. nagatai in having a black-and-white body color (vs. almost entirely gray), lacking setae at the base of the maxilla 1 of the palp article 1 (vs. having setae), having an anterodistal projection of the propodus of male gnathopod 1 that covers the dactylus (vs. not completely covering), propodus of male gnathopod 1 with three and one setae at the posterior edge and base of the anterodistal projection (vs. lacking but having setae at the palmar angle) and having a telson with lateral setae (vs. not having).

M. panda differs from M. bingoensis in having urosomite 2 with three (vs. having two) setae on each side, anterodistal projection of the propodus of male gnathopod 1 covering the dactylus (vs. not completely covering), coxa of female pereopod 6 deeper than wide (vs. wider than deep) and telson with lateral setae (vs. absent).

The researchers did not include M. bingoensis in the molecular phylogenetic analysis, but its morphological similarities also suggest it is phylogenetically close to M. panda. The new species gets its name from its black-and-white body color, which resembles the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca.

Original research

Tomikawa K, Yamato S, Ariyama H (2024). Melita panda, a new species of Melitidae (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from Japan. ZooKeys 1212: 267-283, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1212.128858

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Mossman mahogany (Goniocheton arborescens)

Mossman mahogany ( Goniocheton arborescens ) is a species of plant in the Meliaceae, a small to large tree, up to 20-30 meters tall, flowering and fruiting when only 1 meter high, the trunk has a diameter of up to 45 cm, the bark is gray-brown, smooth or with light cracks. The leaves are opposite, 5 pairs or 10 pieces and petioles 0.5-1 cm long. The leaves are up to 18 cm long, up to 9 cm wide, a main vein in the middle with many small pinnate veins, a pointed tip, dark green upper side, lighter and glabrous underside. The inflorescence is an axillary thyrse measuring up to 8 cm covered with small yellow-brown hairs. Flowers about 10 mm long, creamy green to white, usually 5 petals 10 mm long and 2.2 mm wide. Stamen tubes arise from the base of the petals, 10 anthers 1 mm long at the distal end. The capsule fruit is round and slightly flat, up to 3 cm in diameter, bald, bright red and contains 5 seeds. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida...
Read more

Gunung Sewu Geopark

Gunung Sewu Geopark or Gunung Sewu UNESCO Global Geopark or Pegunungan Sewu (Thousand mountains) are elongated mountains in Kulonprogo Regency, Bantul Regency and Gunung Kidul Regency in Yogyakarta Province, Wonogiri Regency in Central Java Province, to Tulungagung Regency in East Java Province on Java Island, Indonesia. The uniqueness of the ecosystem encourages the International Union of Speleology to propose the Sewu Mountains Karst Area into one of the world's natural heritages in 1993. On September 19 2015, UNESCO announced Gunung Sewu as the Global Geopark Network. Sewu Mountain is rich in biodiversity, archeology, history and cultural aspects. The Pacitan rock culture represents Paleolithic to Neolithic artifacts in Southeast Asia. About 1,802 square kilometers of the area contain traces of prehistoric settlements. Some prehistoric people lived in caves, while others lived in open spaces. Characteristics Gunung Sewu is a classic tropical karst landscape and is domin...
Read more

Barong Temple

Candi Barong or Barong Temple is a Hindu site in on the Baturagung hills in the Kewu Plain in Candisari Village, Bokoharjo Sub-district, Prambanan District, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia where decoration in the temple niches looks like a 'Barong' face. This temple is also called Sari Suragedug Temple as mentioned in the Ratu Baka (Queen Baka) Inscriptions (856 AD) and Pereng Inscriptions (863 AD). The Queen Baka inscription tells of a king named Sri Kumbaja or Sri Kalasodbhava building three 'lingga' is Krttiwasalingga with Dewi Sri, Triyarbakalingga with Dewi Suralaksmi and Haralingga with Dewi Mahalaksmi. The Pereng inscription said in 784 Saka (860 AD) that Rakai Walaing Pu Kumbhayoni conferred rice fields and two hills at Tamwahurang for the maintenance of the Syiwa sacred building called Bhadraloka. The experts argue that Sri Kumbaja or Sri Kalasodbhava is Pu Kumbhayani and the Shiva building in question is the Barong Temple. Unlike the oth...
Read more