''Stygiocaris'' is a genus of

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

from

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s in the

North West Cape North West Cape is a peninsula in the north-west of Western Australia. Cape Range runs down the spine of the peninsula and Ningaloo Reef runs along the western edge. It is in the Gascoyne region and includes the town of Exmouth. History In 1618, ...

and

Barrow Island Barrow Island may refer to: * Barrow Island (Western Australia), Australia * Barrow Island (Queensland), Australia * Barrow Island, Barrow-in-Furness Barrow Island is an area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Originall ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. ''Stygiocaris'' is highly troglobitic, being transparent, less than long and with reduced eyes. It was first described by Lipke Holthuis in 1960. The genus contains two species – ''S. stylifera'' and ''S. lancifera''. ''S. stylifera'' is larger than ''S. lancifera'', and also differs in the shape of the rostrum, which is lance-shaped in ''S. lancifera'' and constricted at its basal end, but straight and without any constriction in ''S. stylifera''. Other distinguishing features include the shape of the fifth and sixth abdominal somites, and the bases of the antennae. The two species of ''Stygiocaris'' were the first

cave shrimp A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea c ...

to be reported from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

s were mostly taken from Kuddumurra Well, from which the fish ''

Milyeringa veritas ''Milyeringa veritas'' (commonly known as the blind gudgeon) is a species of fish in the family Milyeringidae. It is endemic to groundwater and anchialine systems in caves in the Cape Range, Australia. Like other cave-adapted fish, the blind ...

'' was described in 1945. The temperature in the well was recorded as , and it contained

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

, but is influenced by the

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7629325 Atyidae Cave shrimp Freshwater crustaceans of Western Australia