“<i>Draculamya</i>” <i>uraniae</i>: A New Small-Sized Bivalve from the Mediterranean Sea (Galeommatida, Lasaeidae)

Abstract

A new Galeommatid bivalve is described for the Mediterranean Sea, tentatively assigned to the elusive genus Draculamya Oliver and Lützen, 2011. “Draculamya” uraniae n. sp is described upon a number of dead but fresh and articulated specimens, plus many loose valves. Its distribution is almost basin-wide in the Mediterranean, and it possibly occurs in the adjacent Gulf of Cadiz. As for many members in Galeommatida, we hypothesize that “Draculamya” uraniae lives as commensal upon a still-unknown host. The possible co-identity of the extant genus Draculamya with the morphologically similar Pliocene Glibertia Van der Meulen, 1951, is discussed, although the lack of anatomical and genetic support leaves the problem open.

Keywords

• mollusca
• Mediterranean Sea
• new species
• <i>Draculamya</i>
• <i>Glibertia</i>
• Galeommatida