Melliteryx Iredale, 1924

Valentich-Scott, Paul, Griffiths, Charles, Landschoff, Jannes, Li, Ruiqi & Li, Jingchun, 2024, Bivalves of superfamily Galeommatoidea (Mollusca, Bivalvia) from western South Africa, with observations on commensal relationships and habitats, ZooKeys 1207, pp. 301-323 : 301-323

Melliteryx Iredale, 1924

Melliteryx Iredale, 1924 . Type species (original designation): Erycina acupuncta Hedley, 1902 . Recent, Australia.

Description.

Shell subtrigonal, moderately inflated, subequilateral, equivalve; umbos narrow; sculpture of commarginal ribs, striae, or growth checks, with micro-pits in some; periostracum thick, tan, adherent, shiny to silky; hinge plate narrow; both valves with anterior and posterior lateral teeth; left valve with small central pseudocardinal directly below umbos, conjoined with anterior lateral tooth in some; right valve with small thickening near umbos; ligament internal, in elongate resilifer.

Discussion.

The type species of the genus, Erycina acupuncta Hedley, 1902 , was described from off New South Wales, Australia. Huber (2015) documents five additional species, including three from South Africa, one from the Indo-Pacific and one from New Zealand. See Discussion section below for additional comments on Melliteryx .