Phliantid Amphipod Crustaceans resemble Isopods due to their dorsoventraly depressed body shape. They have a a dorsal keel with humps and laterally splayed coxal plates on their first to forth pereopods (walking legs). The Family Phliantidae is composed of seven different genera, namely: Gabophlias, Iphinotus, Iphiplateia, Pariphinotus, Pereionotus, Phlias, and Quasimodia. This family is common in the Southern Hemisphere, as intertidal Algal-dwelling Amphipods. Currently, the genus Pereionotus is composed of 10 species and they are widely distributed and most diverse in the western Pacific Ocean.
In a paper published in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution on 15 May 2020, NurFara-Syakira binti Feirulsha of the Department of Earth Sciences and Environment at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Azman bin Abdul Rahim, also of the Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, and of the Marine Ecosystem Research Centre, at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, describe a new species of Pereionotus from the Sultan Iskandar Marine Park in Malaysia.
Sultan Iskandar Marine Park, or formerly known as the East Johor Island Archipelago, is situated off the east coast of Johor, Malaysia, in the South China Sea. The park comprises 13 small islands off Mersing, Johor, namely Pulau Harimau, Pulau Mensirip, Pulau Goal, Pulau Tengah, Pulau Hujung, Pulau Rawa, Pulau Sibu, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Mentinggi, Pulau Sibu Hujong, Pulau Pemanggil, Pulau Besar, and Pulau Aur. Pulau Tinggi is about 30 km southeast of Mersing and has an area of about 16 km². Ongoing faunistic investigations of the Sultan Iskandar Marine Park, especially at Pulau Tinggi, have yielded over 10 new crustacean taxa, belonging to the Mysida, Amphipoda, and Isopoda. Feirulsha and Azman's study is the first to report the occurrence of Phliantid Amphipods in the Malaysian waters.
The materials collected contain only female specimens (three individuals), collected in the rocky intertidal zone of Kampung Tinggi Balang, Pulau Tinggi, Johor, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. At the laboratory, the materials were preserved in 4% formalin in seawater in vials and later selected for dissection. Whole bodies and dissected appendages were mounted in glycerol on glass slides for illustration. Pencil drawings were made under a compound microscope.
Map of Pulau Tinggi, Johor, Sultan Iskandar Marine Park, Malaysia. Feirulsha & Azman (2020).
The new species is named Pereionotus tinggiensis, where 'tinggiensis' means 'from Tinggi'. The holotype (when describing a new species scientists designate one specimen to be the holotype; all future specimens judged to belong to the same species as the holotype belong to the species) is a female specimen 2 mm in length, with a body which is dorsoventraly depressed, but not greatly laterally expanded. The coxae are not greatly splayed, and the dorsal keel is shallow. The head is small, with protruding eyes.
Pereionotus tinggiensis, holotype female, UKMMZ-1603, 2 mm. Feirulsha & Azman (2020).
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