Summary: | A new Galeommatid bivalve is described for the Mediterranean Sea, tentatively assigned to the elusive genus <i>Draculamya</i> Oliver and Lützen, 2011. “<i>Draculamya</i>” <i>uraniae</i> 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 “<i>Draculamya</i>” <i>uraniae</i> lives as commensal upon a still-unknown host. The possible co-identity of the extant genus <i>Draculamya</i> with the morphologically similar Pliocene <i>Glibertia</i> Van der Meulen, 1951, is discussed, although the lack of anatomical and genetic support leaves the problem open.
|