Description of the Bivalve Litigiella pacifica n. sp. (Heterodonta: Galeommatoidea: Lasaeidae), Commensal with the Sipunculan Sipunculus nudus from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Abstract

In the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, Litigiella pacifica n. sp. lives attached to the body of the burrowing sipunculan Sipunculus nudus. The morphology of the shell and the soft parts are described and compared with other bivalve commensal with the same sipunculan. The new species is hermaphroditic, and the filamentous sperm cells are stored in paired seminal receptacles.