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The amphipod genus Melita Leach, 1814 (Amphipoda: Melitidae) is a predominantly marine group with a cosmopolitan distribution in both circumtropical and temperate waters. However, records of Melita from inland waters such as fresh and brackish waters are limited. In this study, four new species of Melita are described from inland waters in the Ogasawara and Ryukyu Islands, West Pacific: M. nunomurai sp. nov. from Hahajima Island, Ogasawara Islands; M. ogasawaraensis sp. nov. from Anijima, Chichijima, and Hahajima Islands, Ogasawara Islands; M. miyakoensis sp. nov. from Miyakojima Island, Ryukyu Islands; and M. okinawaensis sp. nov. from Okinawajima Island, Ryukyu Islands. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences reveal that M. ogasawaraensis sp. nov. and M. nunomurai sp. nov. are recovered as the sister taxon of M. miyakoensis sp. nov. and M. choshigawaensis, respectively. These results suggest multiple colonisations of the Ogasawara Islands by Melita species. The present study revealed a high species diversity of Melita in the inland waters of the islands of West Pacific. We further discuss the phylogeny among genera of Melitidae. |
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