Introduction

The Melitidae were split amphipods are now confined to species with the inner ramus of uropod 3 significantly shorter than the outer.

Diagnosis

Head as long as deep or longer than deep; anteroventral margin weakly recessed, moderately recessed or notched; anteroventral corner rounded, subquadrate or hooked; rostrum short or absent; eyes well developed (round or reniform), obsolescent or absent. Body laterally compressed; smooth; with sparse slender or robust dorsal setae on urosome or without setae. Antenna 1 subequal to, or longer than antenna 2; peduncular article 1 shorter than, subequal to, or longer than article 2; article 2 longer than article 3; article 3 shorter than article 1; primary flagellum 5- or more articulate; callynophore absent. Antenna 2 short or medium length; flagellum shorter than peduncle; 5- or more articulate. Mandible incisor dentate; lacinia mobilis present on both sides; molar triturating, weakly triturating or non-triturating. Maxilla 1 inner plate strongly setose along medial margin. Maxilliped inner plates well developed; outer plates large or small. Coxae 1–4 longer than broad or broader than long, overlapping. Gnathopod 1 not sexually dimorphic; smaller (or weaker) than or subequal to gnathopod 2; subchelate; coxa subequal to coxa 2; carpus subequal to, or longer than propodus; propodus palm without robust setae along margin. Gnathopod 2 sexually dimorphic; subchelate; coxa subequal to but not hidden by coxa 3; ischium short; carpus short, shorter than propodus, slightly or not produced along posterior margin of propodus. Pereopod 3 coxa longer than broad; carpus subequal to propodus, not produced. Pereopod 4 coxa subequal to, or larger than coxa 3, with or without posteroventral lobe; carpus subequal to propodus, not produced. Pereopod 5 shorter than pereopod 6; coxa smaller than coxa 4, without posterior lobe; basis expanded, with or without posteroventral lobe; carpus linear; dactylus with a few subterminal setae. Pereopod 6 subequal to pereopod 7; basis expanded; dactylus with a few subterminal setae. Pereopod 7 longer than pereopod 5; basis expanded, subovate. Pleonites 1–3 with or without transverse dorsal serrations; without slender or robust dorsal setae. Epimeron 2 setose or without setae. Urosomite 1 longer or much longer than urosomite 2; urosomite 1 bicarinate or urosomites not carinate. Uropods 1–3 similar in structure and size or radically dissimilar. Uropods 1–2 apices of rami with robust setae. Uropod 1 peduncle with 1 or 2 basofacial robust setae. Uropod 3 biramous; peduncle short; rami lanceolate or foliaceous; outer ramus longer than peduncle; inner ramus apically setose or not. Telson laminar; deeply cleft; longer than broad or as long as broad; dorsal robust setae present; apical robust setae present.

General References

Barnard, J.L. 1972. Gammaridean Amphipoda of Australia, Part I. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 103: i-vi 1-333

Barnard, J.L. 1974. Gammaridean Amphipoda of Australia, Part II. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 139: i-v 1-148

Berents, P.B. 1983. The Melitidae of Lizard Island and adjacent reefs, The Great Barrier Reef, Australia (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Records of the Australian Museum 35: 101-143

Bousfield, E.L. 1973. Shallow-water Gammaridean Amphipoda of New England. Ithaca & London : Cornell University Press 312 pp.

Bradbury, J.H. & Williams, W.D. 1999. Key to and checklist of the inland aquatic amphipods of Australia. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum 14: 1-21

Haswell, W.A. 1879. On Australian Amphipoda. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 4: 245-279 pls 7-12

Haswell, W.A. 1879. On some additional new genera and species of amphipodous crustaceans. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 4(3): 319-356 pls 18-24

Krapp-Schickel, G. 2001. Pitfall genus Maera (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Melitidae). Polskie Archiwum Hydrobiologii 47(3–4): 413-440

Krapp-Schickel, T. & Ruffo, S. 2000. The Maera quadrimana-complex (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Melitidae) demands a new concept Quadrimaera n. gen. (with description of three new species from Western Atlantic). Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona 24: 193-214

Lowry, J.K., Berents, P.B. & Springthorpe, R.T. 2001. Australian Amphipoda: Melitidae. Version 1: 1 September 2001. http://crustacea.net.

Lowry, J.K. & Springthorpe, R.T. 2005. New and little-known melitid amphipods from Australian waters (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Melitidae). Records of the Australian Museum 57(2): 237-302

History of changes

History of changes

• Brachina Barnard, J.L. & Williams, W.D. 1995. The taxonomy of Amphipoda (Crustacea) from Australian fresh waters, Part 2. Records of the Australian Museum 47: 161-201 [192] [note this appears to be a junior homonym of Brachina van Beneden, 1850].

  Type species:

   Brachina invasa Barnard & Williams, 1995 by original designation.

Distribution

States

South Australia

IBRA

SA: Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gawler (GAW), Kanmantoo (KAN)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • South Australia: S Gulfs

History of changes

• Brachina invasa Barnard, J.L. & Williams, W.D. 1995. The taxonomy of Amphipoda (Crustacea) from Australian fresh waters, Part 2. Records of the Australian Museum 47: 161-201 [194, figs 21-23].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM P44073 ♀, Parachilna Creek, Flinders Ranges, SA.
  Paratype(s) AM P44075–P44078 (Paratypes from same locality as holotype).

Distribution

States

South Australia

IBRA

SA: Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gawler (GAW), Kanmantoo (KAN)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • South Australia: S Gulfs

Ecological Descriptors

Freshwater, spring.

History of changes

• Dulichiella Stout, V.R. 1912. Studies in Laguna Amphipoda. First Annual Report of the Laguna Marine Laboratory. 134-149 pp. [140].

  Type species:

   Dulichiella spinosa Stout, 1912 by monotypy.

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

MELITIDAE: Dulichiella appendiculata (Say, 1818) — Berents, P.B. 1983. The Melitidae of Lizard Island and adjacent reefs, The Great Barrier Reef, Australia (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Records of the Australian Museum 35: 101-143 (recorded this species); Lowry, J.K. in Lowry, J.K. & Stoddart, H.E. 2003. Crustacea: Malacostraca: Peracarida: Amphipoda, Cumacea, Mysidacea. In Beesley, P.L. & Houston, W.W.K. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 19.2B. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia. xii 531 pp. (excluded this species based on examination of Berent's specimens, Australian records now as an undescribed species)

MELITIDAE: Dulichiella fresneli (Audouin, 1826) — Stebbing, T.R.R. 1910. Scientific results of the trawling expedition of H.M.C.S. "Thetis" Crustacea Part V. Amphipoda. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 4(12): 567-658, pls 47-60; Chilton, C. 1921. Report on the Amphipoda obtained by the F.I.S. Endeavour in Australian seas. Biological Results of the Fishing Experiments carried on by the F.I.S. Endeavour 1909-1914 5(2): 33-92 (recorded this species); Hale, H.M. 1929. The Crustaceans of South Australia. Adelaide : Government Printer Vol. 2 201-380 pp. (recorded this species); Lowry, J.K. in Lowry, J.K. & Stoddart, H.E. 2003. Crustacea: Malacostraca: Peracarida: Amphipoda, Cumacea, Mysidacea. In Beesley, P.L. & Houston, W.W.K. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 19.2B. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia. xii 531 pp. (excluded this species based on examination of Chilton's specimen, Australian record now as D. australis. Stebbing and Hale's unillustrated and undescribed records are outside the limital area of D. fresneli, Australian records now as an undescribed species)

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Cosmopolitan in tropical shallow seas.

IMCRA

Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, Central E coast, Great Barrier Reef, Lower E coast, NE coast, S Gulfs coast
  • Queensland: Great Barrier Reef, NE coast
• New Caledonia
• Papua New Guinea
• Solomon Islands

Nearctic Region

• United States of America
  • Georgia

Oriental Region

• Singapore

Distribution References

Unnamed species

Dulichiella sp.
Unnamed species misidentified as Dulichiella appendiculata by Berents, P.B. 1983. The Melitidae of Lizard Island and adjacent reefs, The Great Barrier Reef, Australia (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Records of the Australian Museum 35: 101–143 [ 111, fig. 9 ].

Distribution: 200 m bathymetric (Great Barrier Reef).
Ecology: marine, sublittoral; algae.

History of changes

• Melita australis Haswell, W.A. 1879. On Australian Amphipoda. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 4: 245-279 pls 7-12 [264, pl. 9 figs 6, 7].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) AM G5393 5 specimens, Port Jackson, NSW [~ 33°51'S,151°16'E]; AM P3495 1 specimen, Port Jackson, NSW [~ 33°51'S, 151°16'E].

Generic Combinations

• Dulichiella australis (Haswell, 1879). —
  Karaman, G.S. & Barnard, J.L. 1979. Classificatory revisions in gammaridean Amphipoda (Crustacea), part 1. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 92(1): 106-165 [153]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Indo-west Pacific Oceans.

IMCRA

Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

Ecological Descriptors

Continental shelf, herbivore, marine, sublittoral.

General References

Haswell, W.A. 1882. Catalogue of the Australian Stalk- and Sessile-eyed Crustacea. Addenda et corrigenda. Sydney : Australian Museum xxiv 324 pp., 4 pls.

Miers, E.J. 1884. Crustacea. Collections from Melanesia. Part I. Report on the Zoological Collections made in the Indo-Pacific Ocean during the Voyage of H.M.S. "Alert" 1881–2. London : British Museum pp. 178-322 pls 18-34.

History of changes

• Dulichiella pacifica Lowry, J.K. & Springthorpe, R.T. 2005. New and little-known melitid amphipods from Australian waters (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Melitidae). Records of the Australian Museum 57(2): 237-302 [292, figs 54-57].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM P61112 ♂ 4.4 mm, between Tandai Point and Koilo Point, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands [9°22.5'S 159°52.2'E].
  Paratype(s) AM P61113 ♀ 5.9 mm; AM P61117 1 ♂, 5 ovigerous ♀♀ and 3 nonovigerous females; AM P61114 ♂ 4.1 mm; AM P61115 4 ♂♂; AM P61116 ♂.

Distribution

States

Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Yonge Reef and Lizard Island, QLD; Senegal, Singapore, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia.

IMCRA

Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Queensland: Great Barrier Reef, NE coast
• New Caledonia
• Papua New Guinea
• Solomon Islands

Oriental Region

• Singapore

Ecological Descriptors

Coral rubble, herbivore, marine, sponge associate (host(s): Coelocarteria singaporensis (Carter, 1883) [ISODICTYIDAE]; Ircinia microconulosa Pulitzer-Finali, 1982 [IRCINIIDAE]; Coscinoderma mathewsi (Lendenfeld, 1886) [SPONGIIDAE]).

Extra Ecological Information

Littoral, epibenthic, living among sponges, sand with low algal turf, 10-20 m.

Associated Fauna References

Myers, A.A. & George, A.M. 2017. Amphipoda living in sponges on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia (Crustacea, Amphipoda). Zootaxa 4365(5): 571–584 [572] (Ircinia microconulosa; Coelocarteria singaporensis)

History of changes

• Melita Leach, W.E. 1814. Crustaceology. pp. 383-437 in Brewster, D. Sir (ed.). The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. Edinburgh : John Murray Baldwin & Cradocle Vol. 7 (2). [403].

  Type species:

   Cancer palmatus Montagu, 1804 by monotypy.
• Boscia Leach, W.E. 1814. Crustaceology. pp. 383-437 in Brewster, D. Sir (ed.). The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. Edinburgh : John Murray Baldwin & Cradocle Vol. 7 (2). [435] [nom. nud.].
• Caliniphargus Stout, V.R. 1913. Studies in Laguna Amphipoda. II. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere 34: 633-659 [640].

  Type species:

   Caliniphargus sulcus Stout, 1913 by monotypy.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Barnard, J.L. & Barnard, C.M. 1983. Freshwater Amphipoda of the World. I. Evolutionary Patterns. II. Handbook and Bibliography. Virginia : Hayfield Associates 830 pp. [663]
• Jarrett, N.E. & Bousfield, E.L. 1996. The amphipod superfamily Hadzioidea on the Pacific coast of North America: Family Melitidae. Part 1. The Melita group: systematics and distributional ecology. Amphipacifica 2(2): 3-74

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Cosmopolitan.

IMCRA

Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, Central E coast, Lower E coast, Lower W coast, S Gulfs coast, SW coast
  • New South Wales: Lower E coast, SE coastal
  • Queensland: Great Barrier Reef, NE coast
• Fiji
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand

Oriental Region

• Sri Lanka

Distribution References

History of changes

• Maera festiva Chilton, C. 1885. Notes on a few Australian Edriophthalmata. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 9(4): 1035-1044 pls 46-47 [1037, pl. 46 figs a-c].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) CMNZ 2 specimens, on 2 micro slides (Specimens catalogued but currently missing), Port Jackson (as Sydney Harbour), NSW; CMNZ 2015.149.154–155 1 male, 1 female, both wet specimens in alcohol (Specimens labelled as "cotypes"), Sydney Harbour, NSW [Lat/Long not provided].

  Secondary source:

   Springthorpe, R.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 75(4): 547–558.

Generic Combinations

• Melita festiva (Chilton, 1885). —
  Chilton, C. 1916. Some Australian and New Zealand Gammaridae. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 48: 359-370 [359, figs. 1-2]

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

New Zealand.

IMCRA

Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38)

Distribution References

Ecological Descriptors

Continental shelf, littoral, marine, sublittoral.

Extra Ecological Information

Soft bottom, under stones.

General References

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

History of changes

• Melita matilda Barnard, J.L. 1972. Gammaridean Amphipoda of Australia, Part I. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 103: i-vi 1-333 [231, figs 136, 137].

  Type data:

   Holotype WAM 225–68 ♂, Matilda Bay, Swan River, WA.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Western Australia

IMCRA

Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • 200 m bathymetric: Central E coast, Lower E coast, Lower W coast

Ecological Descriptors

Estuary.

Extra Ecological Information

Dead clams, algae and sediment.

General References

Jones, A.R. 1987. Temporal patterns in the macobenthic communities of the Hawkesbury Estuary, New South Wales. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38: 607-624

Jones, A.R., Watson-Russell, C.J. & Murray, A. 1986. Spatial patterns in the macrobenthic communities of the Hawkesbury Estuary, New South Wales. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 37: 521-543

History of changes

• Melita myersi Karaman, G.S. 1987. A new species of the genus Melita Leach (fam. Melitidae) from Bermuda and Fiji Islands. Contribution to the Knowledge of the Amphipoda 173. Bulletin du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Belgrade, Series B 42: 19-35 [30].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM P35372 male, 5 mm, Mangroves, Lucala Island, Fiji [~18°10'S 178°30'E].

Distribution

States

Queensland

IMCRA

Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Queensland: Great Barrier Reef, NE coast
• Fiji
• New Caledonia

Ecological Descriptors

Estuary, marine.

Extra Ecological Information

Littoral (0 to 30 m), among mangroves.

General References

Lowry, J.K. & Springthorpe, R.T. 2009. Melitidae, the Melita group. pp. 718-735 in Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds). Benthic Amphipoda (Crustacea: Peracarida) of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa 2260: 1-930 [723, figs. 4, 5]

History of changes

• Melita oba Barnard, J.L. 1972. Gammaridean Amphipoda of Australia, Part I. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 103: i-vi 1-333 [231, figs 137 (part), 138].

  Type data:

   Holotype WAM 213–68 ♂, west of Bunker Bay, Cape Naturaliste, WA.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

IMCRA

Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • 200 m bathymetric: Lower W coast, SW coast

Ecological Descriptors

Littoral, marine, sublittoral.

Extra Ecological Information

Algae.

History of changes

• Melita ophiocola Lowry, J.K. & Springthorpe, R.T. 2005. New and little-known melitid amphipods from Australian waters (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Melitidae). Records of the Australian Museum 57(2): 237-302 [294, figs 58-61].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM P55192 ♀ 9.6 mm, west side, Bottle and Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, NSW [33°50.9'S 151°16.15'E].
  Paratype(s) AM P46263 ♂; AM P46264 ♀; AM P25456 8 specimens; AM P55193 1 specimen; AM P55194 1 specimen; AM P55199 4 specimens; AM P55200 9 specimens; AM P55195 27 specimens; AM P55196 5 specimens; AM P55197 4 specimens, west side, Bottle and Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, NSW [33°50.9'S 151°16.15'E]; AM P55198 1 specimen, west side, Bottle and Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, NSW [33°50.9'S 151°16.15'E]; AM P55236 2 specimens, west side, Bottle and Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, NSW [33°50.9'S 151°16.15'E]; AM P55241 18 specimens, west side, Bottle and Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, NSW [33°50.9'S 151°16.15'E]; AM P55242 18 specimens, west side, Bottle and Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, NSW [33°50.9'S 151°16.15'E]; AM P55245 11 specimens, west side, Bottle and Glass Rocks, Port Jackson, NSW [33°50.9'S 151°16.15'E]; AM P55240 3 specimens, south of Vaucluse Point, Port Jackson, NSW [33°52'S 151°17'E].

Distribution

States

New South Wales

IMCRA

Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Lower E coast

Ecological Descriptors

Marine.

Extra Ecological Information

Littoral (0 to 30 m), 4 m, under rock on coarse sand shell bottoms. Living in the ambulacral groove of the ophiuroid Ophionereis schayeri (Lowry & Springthorpe, 2005) and probably feeding on Ophionereis schayeri food bolus (Lowry & Springthorpe, 2005).

History of changes

• Melita plumulosa 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 [329, figs 1-5].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM P37289 ♂, The Blue Pools, Angourie, NSW.
  Paratype(s) AM P37290 1♀; SAMA C4076 11 specimens.

Distribution

States

New South Wales

Extra Distribution Information

Known only from type locality.

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: SE coastal

Ecological Descriptors

Lentic freshwater, littoral.

History of changes

• Melita sampsonae Lowry, J.K. & Springthorpe, R.T. 2009. Melitidae, the Melita group. pp. 718-735 in Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds). Benthic Amphipoda (Crustacea: Peracarida) of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa 2260: 1-930 [726, figs. 6, 7].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM P77779 ♂ 4.2 mm, Mermaid Cove, Lizard Island, QLD [14°38.90'S 145°27.26'E].
  Paratype(s) AM P77780 ♀ ovigerous, 3.4 mm; AM P77781 ♂ 4.8 mm.

Distribution

States

Queensland

IMCRA

Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Queensland: Great Barrier Reef, NE coast

Ecological Descriptors

Brackish water, intertidal.

Extra Ecological Information

Littoral (0 to 30 m).

History of changes

• Melita zeylanica Stebbing, T.R.R. 1904. Gregarious Crustacea of Ceylon. Spolia Zeylanica 2(5): 1-29 [22, pl. 5].

Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement

• Barnard, J.L. 1972. Gammaridean Amphipoda of Australia, Part I. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 103: i-vi 1-333

Distribution

States

New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Oriental Region–Sri Lanka.

IMCRA

Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, Lower E coast, Lower W coast, S Gulfs coast, SW coast

Oriental Region

• Sri Lanka

Details of nominate subspecies, not present in Australia

Melita zeylanica zeylanica Stebbing, 1904

Melita zeylanica Stebbing, T.R.R. 1904. Gregarious Crustacea from Ceylon. Spolia Zeylanica 2(5): 1–29 [22, pl. 5].
Type data: syntypes whereabouts unknown.
Type locality: Lake Negombo, Sri Lanka [as Ceylon].

History of changes

• Melita zeylanica kauerti Barnard, J.L. 1972. Gammaridean Amphipoda of Australia, Part I. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 103: i-vi 1-333 [235, figs 139-141].

  Type data:

   Holotype WAM 189–70 ♂, Middle Swan Bridge, Swan River, Perth, WA.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia

IMCRA

Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, Lower E coast, Lower W coast, S Gulfs coast, SW coast

Ecological Descriptors

Estuary, marine.

General References

Kangas, M.I. & Geddes, M.C. 1984. The effects of salinity on the distribution of amphipods in the Coorong, South Australia, in relation to their salinity tolerance. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 108(3/4): 139-146

History of changes

• Nurina Bradbury, J.H. & Eberhard, S. 2000. A new stygobiont melitid amphipod from the Nullarbor Plain. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 39-50 [40].

  Type species:

   Nurina poulteri Bradbury & Eberhard, 2000 by original designation.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

IBRA

WA: Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Gibson Desert (GD), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Murchison (MUR), Nullarbor (NUL), Tanami (TAN)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Western Australia: W plateau

History of changes

• Nurina poulteri Bradbury, J.H. & Eberhard, S. 2000. A new stygobiont melitid amphipod from the Nullarbor Plain. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 39-50 [41, figs 1-5].

  Type data:

   Holotype WAM C24436 ♂ 9 mm, Nurina Cave N46, Roe Plains, WA [127°01'E 32°01'S].
  Paratype(s) WAM C24438 15 specimens including ♂ 8.9 mm; WAM C 24437 ♀ 7.5 mm, allotype.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Roe Plain region, Nullarbor Plain.

IBRA

WA: Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Gibson Desert (GD), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Murchison (MUR), Nullarbor (NUL), Tanami (TAN)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Western Australia: W plateau

Ecological Descriptors

Cave dweller, freshwater, underground water.

History of changes

• Tegano Barnard, J.L. & Karaman, G.S. 1982. Classificatory revisions in gammaridean Amphipoda (Crustacea), Part 2. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 95(1): 167-187 [176].

  Type species:

   Melita seticornis Bousfield, 1970 by original designation.

Distribution

States

Queensland

IMCRA

Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

History of changes