A new species of Melita Leach, 1814 (Amphipoda: Melitidae) from Marapendi Lagoon, Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil

Abstract A new species of the genus Melita Leach, 1814 is described with material from the Marapendi Lagoon, Rio de Janeiro City, collected in association with the invasive estuarine bivalve Mytilopsis leucophaeata (Conrad, 1831). Melita georginae sp. nov. is characterized by the following characters: antenna 1, accessory flagellum 5-articulate; gnathopod 1, propodus anterodistal projection round; epimeral plate 3, ventral margin with 10 submarginal stout setae; urosomite 1 without dorsal spines; urosomite 2 with 2 sets of dorsal stout setae; uropod 3, outer ramus 1-articulate; and telson with 3 subapical stout setae. This is the fifth species of Melita recorded from Brazil. An identification key to Neotropical species is provided.