A crustacean with panda coloring is confirmed as a new species

Oct. 24 () –

Decades after it was first discovered in Japan, it has been confirmed that a species of crustacean with a unique black and white coloration that resembles a panda It is new to science.

The melitid amphipods are shrimp-like crustaceans that are found all over the world. The newly classified Melita panda was first discovered in the 1990s. Details of the discovery and morphological analysis are published in the Zookeys magazine.

The discovery of the Melita panda highlights the importance of studying species taxonomy, which is the naming and classification of organisms, for conservation efforts. It is impossible to know if a species is in danger of disappearing if it has not even been identified..

“Although biodiversity conservation is a global issue, species diversity and other aspects of biodiversity are still not fully understood. “As a first step towards species conservation, we conducted a taxonomic study of crustacean amphipods , which have a great diversity of species throughout Japan,” said in a statement Ko Tomikawa, professor at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hiroshima University.

Before the discovery of the Melita panda, there were 63 known species of Melita amphipods, of which 16 were found in Japan. The Melita panda was found in intertidal waters in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. There are likely even more unidentified and undescribed species of melita amphipods in the coastal waters of Japan.

“The study of crustacean amphipods in the coastal zone of Japan is lagging. To accurately assess species diversity, taxonomic studies are necessary. We hope that the discovery of a new species of amphipod with the familiar coloring of the panda pattern will increase the public interest in biodiversity and taxonomy,” Tomikawa said.

To identify the Melita panda, The researchers performed a morphological and molecular phylogeny study using genomic DNA. The morphological description of the Melita panda found unique characteristics, including its panda-like colors and other physical characteristics, while molecular phylogeny is used to identify how closely related the Melita panda is to other Melita amphipods. This information is used to create a phylogenetic tree or evolutionary tree of the known melita amphipods. Phylogenetic trees are diagrams that show the evolutionary relationships between species.

Molecular phylogeny found that the Melita panda is closely related to two other melita amphipodsthe Melita nagatai and the Melita koreana. The panda-like coloration distinguishes the melita panda from these other two amphipods, along with other physical differences. Its gnathopods, which are claws that extend from the second thoracic segment, are located further forward than other melita amphipods, covering another of its appendages. Their setae, which are hair-like structures that look like bristles, are also distinguished from other Melita amphipods.

Together, the Melita nagatai, the Melita koreana and the newly discovered Melita panda form a monophyletic group. This means that they have a common evolutionary ancestor. In this case, it is the Melita hoshinoi.