A little-known group of marine mollusks, from the western coast of South Africa was discovered by researchers from the University of Cape Town.
Researchers, Valentich-Scott P, Griffiths C, Landschoff J and Li R, Li J (2024), were working on another important project, the 1001 Seaforest Species project, when they came across new finds.
In a detailed research paper, the three researchers, explored new diversity of galeommatoidean bivalves, a little-known group of marine mollusks, from the western coast of South Africa.
Paul Valentich-Scott from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, is the leader of the research.
Partners in the project are the University of Cape Town, Sea Change Trust, Stellenbosch University, and the University of Colorado Boulder.
Their study explains details surrounding new species, four species of galeommatoidean bivalves, collected from the Western Cape region of South Africa.
Among these is one new species, Brachiomya ducentiunus. This is a small clam, which is only 2 mm (less than 1/8th inch) long.
They observed it spends its life, crawling between the spines of sea urchins.
The new species live in False Bay, South Africa, where it was found attached to the burrowing sea urchin Spatagobrissus mirabilis, at a depth of about 3 m.
It has not been observed on its own, without the host urchin.
Speaking about the new finds, research leader, Paul Valentich-Scott, said “this study marks a significant advancement in our understanding of the biodiversity and ecological interactions of galeommatoidean bivalves.”
He said uncovering the hidden lives of these small creatures, helps to understand marine and biodiversity conservation.
Picture: The newly discovered species, Brachiomya ducentiunus, crawing on a sea urchin spine. Photo by Craig Foster
Research article: Valentich-Scott P, Griffiths C, Landschoff J, Li R, Li J (2024) Bivalves of superfamily Galeommatoidea (Mollusca, Bivalvia) from western South Africa, with observations on commensal relationships and habitats. ZooKeys 1207: 301-323. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1207.124517