Melita festiva ( Chilton, 1885 )

Springthorpe, Roger T., 2023, Melita lowryi, a New Species of Melitidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Senticaudata) from New Zealand, and the Redescription of Melita festiva (Chilton, 1885) from Australia, Records of the Australian Museum (Rec. Aust. Mus.) 75 (4), pp. 547-558 : 548-553

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.3853/j.2201-4349.75.2023.1892

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10957439

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03DA87A5-352E-FFA3-FC9F-FD409869FA76

treatment provided by

Felipe (2023-12-20 21:17:21, last updated 2024-11-29 17:44:35)

scientific name

Melita festiva ( Chilton, 1885 )
status

 

Melita festiva ( Chilton, 1885) View in CoL

Figs 1–4 View Figure 1 View Figure 2 View Figure 3 View Figure 4

Maera festiva Chilton, 1885: 1037 , pl. 46, fig. 2a–c.— Stebbing, 1910: 642.

Maera rubromaculata Haswell, 1885: 105 View in CoL (in part).

Ceradocus rubromaculata Della Valle, 1893: 720 View in CoL (in part).— Stebbing, 1906: 431, 732 (in part).

Melita festiva .— Sheard, 1937: 24 (list).—J. L. Barnard, 1972: 117 (in part = M. lowryi sp. nov.).— Barnard & Barnard, 1983: 665.— Zeidler, 1989: 335.— Lowry & Springthorpe, 2005: 238, tab. 1.

Abludomelita festiva .— Karaman, 1981: 40.

Ledoyeromelita festiva . — Labay, 2016: 65.

Not Melita festiva .— Chilton, 1916: 359, figs 1–2.— Hurley, 1957: 6.— Fenwick, 1976: 2. (= M. lowryi sp. nov.).

Syntypes: 2 specimens (2 micro slides), CMNZ, Sydney Harbour , New South Wales, Australia (catalogued but currently missing, Shaw & Poore, 2016: 32) ; 1 male, 1 female (wet specimens in alcohol), CMNZ 2015.149.154–155, Sydney Harbour , New South Wales, Australia, 1 January 1884 (labelled as “cotypes”) .

Additional material examined. New South Wales: 1 male, 10.4 mm (dissected, carcass, and 4 micro slides), AM P.18120, Bottle and Glass Rocks, Port Jackson , ca. 33°50.9'S 151°16.2'E, between tide marks, 28 July 1923, coll. A. A. Livingstone GoogleMaps ; 1 male (9.7 mm), 1 ovigerous female (6.7 mm), 3 females (5.8–8.5 mm), AM P.5333, Coogee , 33°55'S 151°16'E, coll. F. A. McNeill GoogleMaps ; 4 males (3.3–8.3 mm), 1 ovigerous female (6.7 mm), 5 females (3.3–8.5 mm), AM P.36647, Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay , 37°04.7'S 149°53.1'E, gravel and algae, S. J. Keable & J. T. van der Velde, 9 October 1984, station Q11 GoogleMaps ; 1 male (8.3 mm; carcass and 3 micro slides), AM P.55021, Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay , 37°04.7'S 149°53.1'E, gravel and algae, S. J. Keable & J. T. van der Velde, 9 October 1984, station Q11 GoogleMaps ; 1 ovigerous female (6.7 mm; dissected, carcass, and 2 micro slides), AM P.55022, Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay , 37°04.7'S 149°53.1'E, gravel and algae, 9 October 1984, coll. S. J. Keable & J. T. van der Velde , station Q11 GoogleMaps ; 1 male (5.4 mm), 1 female (5.8 mm), AM P.55118, Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay , 37°04.7'S 149°53.1'E, subtidal rock platform, 2–9 m, S. J. Keable & E. A. Bamber, 11 December 1984, station Q2 GoogleMaps ; 2 males (4.2–5.4 mm), AM P.55119, Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay , 37°04.7'S 149°53.1'E, kelp holdfast, subtidal rock platform, 3 m, S. J. Keable & E.A. Bamber, 11 December 1984, station Q2 GoogleMaps ; 1 female (6.7 mm), AM P.55120, Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay , 37°04.7'S 149°53.1'E, subtidal rock platform, P.A. Hutchings, 9 October 1984, station Q5 GoogleMaps ; 1 male (4.2 mm), 2 females (7.5–7.9 mm), AM P.106019, Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay , 37°04.7'S 149°53.1'E, P.A. Hutchings & S. J. Keable, 17 September 1985, station Q7 GoogleMaps ; 1 female (4.2 mm), AM P.106020, Twofold Bay, Murrumbulga Point , 37°04.7'S 149°53.1'E, S. J. Keable & E. A. Bamber, 11 December 1984, station Q18 GoogleMaps .

Australian Commonwealth Territory: 1 specimen (5.4 mm), AM P.92920, Murrays Beach , Jervis Bay, 35°07.5'S 150°45.5'E, hand collected, spongeencrusted dead barnacles 0.5 m, 28 June 1981, H. E. Stoddart, station MI NSW 52 GoogleMaps .

Victoria. 2 males, 6 females, NMV J13115 About NMV , off Crib Point, Western Port , 38°20.56'S 145°15.06'E, Smith-McIntyre grab, 2 m, coll. A. J. Gilmour, 5 April 1965, station CPBS-N 03 GoogleMaps ; 1 male, NMV J13116 About NMV , off Crib Point, Western Port , 38°20.83'S 145°13.5'E, Smith-McIntyre grab, 13 m, coll. A. J. Gilmour, 23 March 1965, station CPBS-N 32 GoogleMaps ; 1 female, NMV J13117 About NMV , off Crib Point, Western Port , 38°20.56'S 145°15.06'E, Smith-McIntyre grab, 2 m, coll. A. J. Gilmour, 5 April 1965, station CPBS-N 03 GoogleMaps ; 1 male, 1 female, NMV J13118 About NMV , off Crib Point, Western Port , 38°21'S 145°13.8'E, Smith-McIntyre grab, 11 m, coll. A. J. Gilmour, 12 October 1964, station CPBS-B 4 GoogleMaps ; 1 male (7.9 mm), 1 ovigerous female (6.3 mm), AM P.106018, Hayley Point, Mounts Bay , 38°47'S 143°40'E, under stones, rocky shore low tide, R. T. Springthorpe & P. B. Berents, 4 May 1988, station MI VIC-69 GoogleMaps .

Type locality. Sydney Harbour , New South Wales, Australia, ca. 33°51.55'S 151°13.35'E GoogleMaps .

Description. Male (based on male, 10.4 mm, AM P.18120).

Head. Anteroventral margin with large notch on anteroventral corner, anteroventral corner rounded; eyes present, well developed. Antenna 1 longer than antenna 2, peduncular article 1 shorter than 2 with 3 robust setae along posterior margin, article 2 longer than article 3; accessory flagellum 6- or 7-articulate; flagellum 31+ articulate.Antenna 2 peduncular article 4 subequal to article 5; flagellum strongly setose, 13-articulate. Mandible molar large, setal row well developed; palp well-developed, 3-articulate; article 1 not produced distally, length 0.5 times article 2, article 2 length 0.8 times article 3 with several marginal setae, article 3 rectilinear with a bunch of apical setae and several marginal setae. Maxilla 1 inner plate long, subrectangular, with 8 apical plumose setae, outer plate with 9 apical setal teeth, palp 2-articulate, slightly curved with numerous apical and subapical setae. Maxilla 2 inner plate without oblique setal row on inner face, with marginal setal row. Maxilliped plates strong, palp article 2 rectilinear, dactyl curved.

Pereon. Coxae 1–3 without posteroventral cusp. Gnathopod 1 not sexually dimorphic, subchelate; coxa anteroventral corner produced, rounded, anterior margin slightly concave; carpus about 2 times longer than broad, length 1.2 times propodus; propodus small, linear, without hump along anterior margin, without anterodistal projection or hood, posterodistal margin not swollen, palm acute and convex, entire, without anterodistal projection near base of dactylus; dactylus articulating distinctly with propodus, well developed, fitting palm, posterior margin not swollen at base. Gnathopod 2 significantly enlarged in male, sexually dimorphic; left and right gnathopods subequal in size, subchelate; merus with sharply produced posterodistal process; carpus compressed, length about 0.5 times breadth, posterior margin lobate; propodus expanded, with numerous rows of dense setae medially and along anterior and posterior margins, palm acute, with a row of robust setae along lateral margin, with large truncate mid palmar tooth, posterodistal corner defined by large tooth and 2 robust setae medially and laterally; dactylus apically truncate, hammer-like, closing along palm. Pereopod 4 smaller than pereopod 3, coxa with posteroventral lobe. Pereopods 5–7 similar in shape; merus, carpus, and propodus with numerous dense bunches of long slender setae along anterior and posterior margins. Pereopod 5 smaller than pereopods 6–7; basis expanded, posterior margin almost straight, minutely serrate, posteroventral corner broadly rounded; dactylar unguis bifid. Pereopod 6 coxa sexually dimorphic, anterior lobe slightly produced, rounded. Pereopod 7 subequal in size to pereopod 6.

Pleon. Pleonites 1–3 without dorsal teeth, spines or setae. Epimeron 1 posteroventral corner subquadrate. Epimeron 2 posteroventral corner subquadrate. Epimeron 3 posterior margin smooth, ventral margin serrate along posterior quarter, posteroventral corner with strongly produced acute tooth. Urosomite 1 without dorsal mid-line spine. Urosomite 2 with 4 dorsal spines with 2 dorsal robust setae in 2 groups. Uropod 1 peduncle with basofacial robust seta. Uropod 3 inner ramus scale-like, much shorter than outer ramus; outer ramus length 4.5 times breadth, 2-articulate, article 2 short. Telson deeply cleft, as long as broad, lobes apically acute with 2 subapical robust setae on each lobe, inner and outer margins lacking setae.

Female (Sexually dimorphic characters). Based on female, 6.7 mm, AM P.55022. Oostegites linear, sparsely setose, present on gnathopod 2 and pereopods 3–5. Gnathopod 2 carpus short, length 1.4 times breadth, posterior margin not lobate; propodus subovate, length 1.2 times carpus, palm acute, corner defined by subquadrate tooth and 2 robust setae; dactylus apically acute, closing along palm. Pereopod 6 coxa anterior lobe slightly produced, bilobate.

Habitat. Marine, rocky intertidal to 11 m depth.

Remarks. Melita festiva ( Chilton, 1885) is distinguished from almost all other species of Melita by the distinctive second gnathopod in the male having an inflated sub-ovoid propodus and heavy, hammer-like, distally truncate dactyl. Melita festiva ( Chilton, 1885) and Melita lowryi sp. nov. appear superficially similar in the form of male gnathopod 2. Melita festiva differs from Melita lowryi sp. nov., in the heavily setose gnathopod 2 and pereopods 5 to 7, gnathopod 2 propodus palm having a single subquadrate tooth (2 teeth in M. lowryi ), urosomite 1 lacking dorsal mid-line spine (with dorsal mid-line spine in M. lowryi ), uropod 3 outer ramus shorter than in M. lowryi and telson without medial setae (1 seta per lobe in M. lowryi ).

Distribution. Australia. New South Wales: Port Jackson ( Chilton, 1885, current study); Twofold Bay (current study). Australian Commonwealth Territory: Jervis Bay (current study). Victoria: Western Port; Mounts Bay (current study).

Barnard, J. L. 1972. The marine fauna of New Zealand: algae-living littoral Gammaridea (Crustacea Amphipoda). New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir 62: 1 - 216.

Barnard, J. L., and C. M. Barnard. 1983. Freshwater Amphipoda of the World. (2 volumes). Vol. I. Virginia: Hayfield Associates, 830 pp.

Chilton, C. 1885. Notes on a few Australian Edriophthalmata. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 9: 1035 - 1044.

Chilton, C. 1916. Some Australian and New Zealand Gammaridae. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 48: 359 - 370.

Della Valle, A. 1893. Gammarini del Golfo di Napoli. Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapel und der angrenzenden Meeresabschnitte 20: 1 - 948, pls 1 - 61.

Fenwick, G. D. 1976. The effect of wave exposure on the amphipod fauna of the alga Caulerpa brownii. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 25: 1 - 18. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / 0022 - 0981 (76) 90072 - 1

Haswell, W. A. 1885. Notes on the Australian Amphipoda. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 10 (1): 95 - 114, pls 10 - 8. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. part. 17903

Hurley, D. E. 1957. Some Amphipoda, Isopoda and Tanaidacea from Cook Strait. Zoology Publications from Victoria University College 21: 1 - 20.

Karaman, G. 1981. Redescription of Melita planaterga Kunkel 1910 from Bermuda Islands with revision of genera Melita Leach and Abludomelita n. gen. (Contribution to the Knowledge of the Amphipoda 119). Poljoprivreda i sumarstvo, Titograd 27 (1): 29 - 50.

Labay, V. S. 2016. Review of amphipods of the Melita group (Amphipoda: Melitidae) from the coastal waters of Sakhalin Island (Far East of Russia). III. Genera Abludomelita Karaman, 1981 and Melita Leach, 1814. Zootaxa 4156 (1): 1 - 73. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4156.1.1

Lowry, J. K., and R. T. Springthorpe. 2005. New and littleknown melitid amphipods from Australian waters (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Melitidae). Records of the Australian Museum 57 (2): 237 - 302. https: // doi. org / 10.3853 / j. 0067 - 1975.57.2005.1463

Shaw, M. D., and G. C. B. Poore. 2016. Types of Charles Chilton's Crustacea with comments on his collections in the Canterbury Museum. Records of the Canterbury Museum 30: 25 - 51.

Sheard, K. 1937. A catalogue of Australian Gammaridea. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia 61: 17 - 29.

Stebbing, T. R. R. 1906. Amphipoda. I. Gammaridea. Das Tierreich 21: i - xxxix + 1 - 806.

Stebbing, T. R. R. 1910. Scientific results of the trawling expedition of H. M. C. S. Thetis. Crustacea. Part V. Amphipoda. Australian Museum Memoir 4: 567 - 658, pls xlvii - lx. https: // doi. org / 10.3853 / j. 0067 - 1967.4.1910.1508

Zeidler, W. 1989. A new species of Melita (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Melitidae) from northern New South Wales with a note on the genus Abludomelita Karaman, 1981. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 110 (4): 327 - 338.

Gallery Image

Figure 1. Melita festiva (Chilton, 1885), male, 10.4 mm, AM P.18210, Bottle & Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia.

Gallery Image

Figure 2. Melita festiva (Chilton, 1885), male, 10.4 mm, AM P.18210, Bottle & Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, New South Wales,Australia, female, 6.7 mm, AM P.55022, Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Scales for A1–2 represent 0.5 mm, remainder represent 0.2 mm.

Gallery Image

Figure 3. Melita festiva (Chilton, 1885), male, 10.4 mm, AM P.18210, Bottle & Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia, female, 6.7 mm, AM P.55022 Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Scales represent 0.5 mm.

Gallery Image

Figure 4. Melita festiva (Chilton, 1885), male, AM P.18210, Bottle & Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia, female, 6.7 mm, AM P.55022, Murrumbulga Point, Twofold Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Scales for P5–7 represent 0.5 mm, remainder represent 0.2 mm.

CMNZ

Canterbury Museum

AM

Australian Museum

T

Tavera, Department of Geology and Geophysics

NMV

Museum Victoria

R

Departamento de Geologia, Universidad de Chile

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Malacostraca

Order

Amphipoda

SubOrder

Senticaudata

Family

Melitidae

Genus

Melita