''Iphinoe trispinosa'' is a species of
cumacea
Cumacea is an order of small marine crustaceans of the superorder Peracarida, occasionally called hooded shrimp or comma shrimp. Their unique appearance and uniform body plan makes them easy to distinguish from other crustaceans. They live in sof ...
n belonging to the family
Bodotriidae and the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Iphinoe
''Iphinoe'' is a genus of crustaceans which belong to the family Bodotriidae. It includes the following species:
*''Iphinoe acutirostris'' Ledoyer, 1965
*'' Iphinoe adriatica'' Băcescu, 1988
*'' Iphinoe africana'' Zimmer, 1908
*'' Iphinoe ar ...
''.
Anatomy
''I. trispinosa'' is a slender cumacean which grows up to 10 mm long. The
carapace
A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
is approximately twice as long as it is high, and in the male, which has a rounded
pseudorostrum, rather smooth. The female has two to six small serrations in the middle of the dorsal ridge of the carapace, and a sharply leading pseudorostrum.
Both males and females are strongly pigmented. The male has — like all members of the family Bodotriidae — five pairs of
pleopod
The decapod ( crustaceans such as a crab, lobster, shrimp or prawn) is made up of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment may possess one pair of appendages, although in various ...
s. Their colour is whitish to straw-coloured.
Habitat
''I. trispinosa'' are usually found in fine sand beaches, such as those formed by silt deposits. They prefer shallower depths, but may be found as deep as 150 m. During summer nights the males emerge from sand, swarming to the surface, frequently attracted by light.
They are found from
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
to the
Moroccan coast, around the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
and in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
.
References
Further reading
* Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S., (1991). Marine Fauna of the British Isles and North-West Europe: Introduction and Protozoans to Arthropods, .
*Jones, N.S., (1976). British Cumaceans. Synopses of the British fauna (New Series), No. 7. The Linnean Society/Academic Press, London.
*Sars, G.O., (1900). An account of the Crustacea of Norway. Vol. III. Cumacea. Bergen Museum, Bergen.
External links
''Iphinoe trispinosa''on the Cumacea World Database.
''Iphinoe trispinosa''on the World Biodiversity Database.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2301431
Cumacea
Crustaceans of the Atlantic Ocean
Crustaceans described in 1843