A new species of the family Melitidae Bousfield, 1973, Melita petronioi sp. nov., is described with material collected from Patos Lagoon, coast of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. The new species is the unique species of Melita Leach, 1814 in Brazilian waters with urosomites 1 and 2 lacking spines, but urosomite 2 bearing two sets of dorsal stout setae, and the uropod 3 with the outer ramus 2-articulate. It is the first Melita species recorded to the southern region of the country.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.