''Phronima'' is a genus of small, deep sea

hyperiid The Hyperiidea are a suborder of amphipods, small aquatic crustaceans. Unlike the other suborders of Amphipoda, hyperiids are exclusively marine and do not occur in fresh water. Hyperiids are distinguished by their large eyes and planktonic habi ...

amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...

s of the family

Phronimidae The Phronimidae are a family of amphipod crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods ...

. It is found throughout the world's oceans, except in

polar region The polar regions, also called the frigid geographical zone, zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North Pole, North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high l ...

s. ''Phronima'' species live in the pelagic zone of the deep ocean. Their bodies are semitransparent. Although commonly known as parasites, they are more technically correctly called

parasitoids In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionary strategies within parasi ...

. Instead of constantly feeding on a live host, females attack salps, using their mouths and claws to eat the animal and hollow out its gelatinous shell. ''Phronima'' females then enter the barrel and lay their eggs inside, and then propels the barrel through the water as the larvae develop, providing them with fresh food and water.

Classification

The genus ''Phronima'' contains these species: *''Phronima atlantica'' *''

Phronima bowmani ''Phronima'' is a genus of small, deep sea hyperiid amphipods of the family Phronimidae. It is found throughout the world's oceans, except in polar regions. ''Phronima'' species live in the pelagic zone of the deep ocean. Their bodies are semitr ...

'' *'' Phronima bucephala'' *'' Phronima colletti'' Bovallius, 1887 *'' Phronima curvipes'' Vosseler, 1901 *'' Phronima dunbari'' *'' Phronima pacifica'' Streets, 1887 *''

Phronima sedentaria ''Phronima sedentaria'' is a species of amphipod crustaceans found in oceans at a depth of up to . They are large in size relative to other members of the family Phronimidae. Individuals may be found inside barrel-like homes, created most common ...

'' (Forsskål, 1775) ( type species) *''

Phronima solitaria ''Phronima'' is a genus of small, deep sea hyperiid amphipods of the family Phronimidae. It is found throughout the world's oceans, except in polar regions. ''Phronima'' species live in the pelagic zone of the deep ocean. Their bodies are semitr ...

'' Guérin-Méneville, 1836 *''

Phronima stebbingi ''Phronima'' is a genus of small, deep sea hyperiid amphipods of the family Phronimidae. It is found throughout the world's oceans, except in polar regions. ''Phronima'' species live in the pelagic zone of the deep ocean. Their bodies are semitr ...

'' Vosseler, 1901

References

External links

Google search for images of Phronima
Hyperiidea Crustacean genera Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille {{amphipod-stub