Maerid amphipods (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Okinawa, Japan with description of a new species.

Abstract

Two species of Maeridae are reported from extensive tidal flat collections on the east coast of Okinawa Island, Japan. A range extension is reported for Ceradocus mizani Lim, Azman Othman, 2010. Elasmopus mukuinu sp. nov. is described and is most similar to species in the Elasmopus pectenicrus (Bate, 1862) group in Hughes Lowry (2011). The new species is distinguished from other species based on the gnathopod 2 propodus bearing a subrectangular hump near insertion of the dactylus, the propodus being covered in dense tufts of long setae and the posterior margins of pereopods 5, 6, and 7 (almost smooth, serrate, and crenulate, respectively).