Bivalves of superfamily Galeommatoidea (Mollusca, Bivalvia) from western South Africa, with observations on commensal relationships and habitats

The Galeommatoidea are a diverse but little-studied group of small bivalves, well known for the symbiotic relationships many species have with a range of invertebrate taxa. Four species collected from the Western Cape region of South Africa were examined and illustrated, providing new details on the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Valentich-Scott, Paul, Griffiths, Charles, Landschoff, Jannes, Li, Ruiqi, Li, Jingchun
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Pensoft Publishers 2024
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1207.124517
Description
Summary:The Galeommatoidea are a diverse but little-studied group of small bivalves, well known for the symbiotic relationships many species have with a range of invertebrate taxa. Four species collected from the Western Cape region of South Africa were examined and illustrated, providing new details on their habitat preferences, and depicting the mantle structure of live specimens for the first time. Brachiomya ducentiunus sp. nov., is described herein, and an additional record of Montacuta substriata (Montagu, 1808) is reported from South Africa. Brachiomya ducentiunus and Montacuta substriata have obligate symbiotic relationships with different burrowing echinoids, while Kellia becki (WH Turton, 1932) and Melliteryx mactroides (Hanley, 1857) are free-living. DNA data and phylogenetic analyses are provided for three of the species.