Haustorius jayneae, a New Species of Haustoriid Amphipod from the Northern Gulf of Mexico, with Notes on Its Ecology at Panama City Beach, Florida U.S.A.

Abstract

A new species of sand-burrowing amphipod, Haustorius jayneae, is described from the swash zone and shallow subtidal sands along the north Florida and Mississippi Gulf coasts. It is most similar to H. canadensis from the American Atlantic coast, differing primarily in the presence of a distinct anterodistal spinous lobe on pereopod 6, article 5; a longer row of distal marginal spines on pereopod 7, article 4; and fewer proximal spines on the peduncle of uropod 1. A revised key to the known species of Haustorius is included and information on the ecology of H. jayneae n. sp. at Panama City Beach, Florida, is reviewed.