''Mysis'' is a genus of

mysid Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in this ...

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapoda, decapods, ostracoda, seed shrimp, branchiopoda, branchiopods, argulidae, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopoda, isopods, barnacles, copepods, ...

s in the family

Mysidae Mysidae is the largest family of crustaceans in the order Mysida, with over 1000 species in around 170 genera. Characteristics Members of the family Mysidae are distinguished from other mysids by the fact that the first pereopod (walking leg) ha ...

, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and high

boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

. Fifteen species are recognized. Body lengths range from . The freshwater taxa of the genus have been referred to as "

glacial relict A glacial relict is a population of a cold-adapted species that has been left behind as the range of the species changed after an ice age ended. Glacial relicts are usually found in enclaves "under relatively benign conditions". Examples: *The bi ...

s", and they comprise four closely related species, most of which also live in brackish water. ''

Mysis relicta ''Mysis relicta'' is a shrimp-like crustacean in the Mysida order, native to lakes of Northern Europe and to the brackish Baltic Sea. Appearance Mysis is a small, transparent shrimp-like crustacean, of less than 2.5 cm length. It has tw ...

'' is a freshwater species from boreal lakes of

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors ...

, also present in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. ''Mysis salemaai'' is another North European and Baltic Sea taxon. ''Mysis segerstralei'' is a fresh- and brackish-water species of the Eurasian and North American Arctic and sub-Arctic. The North American lakes, including the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

, are inhabited by ''

Mysis diluviana ''Mysis diluviana'' is a mysid crustacean (opossum shrimp) found in freshwater lakes of northern North America. Appearance ''Mysis'' is a small, transparent shrimp-like crustacean, less than in length. It has two pairs of relatively long ante ...

''. Various species of Mysis are found in lakes of the

South Swedish highlands 300px, Aerial view of farms and forest in Ydre Municipality. 250px, The forested landscape of the South Swedish highlands, seen from Eksjö_Municipality.html"_;"title="Skuruhatt_in_Eksjö_Municipality">Skuruhatt_in_Eksjö_Municipality. The_Sout ...

, like Lake Sommen, that were never connected to the sea or the

Baltic Ice Lake The Baltic Ice Lake is a name given by geologists to a freshwater lake that evolved in the Baltic Sea basin as glaciers retreated from that region at the end of the last ice age. The lake existed between 12,600 and 10,300 years Before Present ...

. This have led to theories that claim a natural lock system existed in the area during the

Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas (c. 12,900 to 11,700 years BP) was a return to glacial conditions which temporarily reversed the gradual climatic warming after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, c. 27,000 to 20,000 years BP). The Younger Dryas was the last stag ...

. Four endemic species inhabit the

. They have specialized and adapted to the cold, deepwater habitats of the landlocked basin. For example, the bathyal ''M. amblyops'', the smallest mysid in the genus, has reduced eyes. Four species also have circum-arctic distributions (''M. oculata'', ''M. nordenskioldi'', ''M. segerstralei'', ''M. polaris''). Generic characters: frontal margin of

carapace A carapace is a 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 tortoises, the unde ...

convex, angular; antennal scale with setae around all margins, segment 2 of maxilla 2 palp large, axe-shaped, with strong serrated spine-setae; pereiopods long, carpopropodus 7–9-segmented; male pleopod 4 5-segmented, segment 4 as long as segment 3;

telson The telson () is the posterior-most division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segment on acco ...

with cleft.

Species

*''

Mysis amblyops ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' G. O. Sars, 1907 *''

Mysis caspia ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' G. O. Sars, 1895 *''

'' Audzijonytė & Väinölä, 2005 *''

Mysis gaspensis ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' O. Tattersall, 1954 *''

Mysis litoralis ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' (Banner, 1948) *''

Mysis macrolepis ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' G. O. Sars, 1907 *''

Mysis microphthalma ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' G. O. Sars, 1895 *''

Mysis mixta ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' Lilljeborg, 1853 *''

Mysis nordenskioldi ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' Audzijonytė & Väinölä, 2007 *'' Mysis oculata'' (Fabricius, 1780) *''

Mysis polaris ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' Holmquist, 1859) *''

'' Lovén, 1862 *''

Mysis salemaai ''Mysis salemaai'' is a shrimp-like crustacean in the Mysida order, inhabiting lakes of Ireland and South Scandinavia and brackish waters of the northern Baltic Sea. Appearance ''Mysis salemaai'' is a transparent shrimp-like crustacean, of le ...

'' Audzijonytė & Väinölä, 2005 *''

Mysis segerstralei ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' Audzijonytė & Väinölä, 2005 *''

Mysis stenolepis ''Mysis'' is a genus of mysid crustaceans in the family Mysidae, distributed mainly in the coastal zone of the Arctic and high boreal seas. Several species also inhabit northern freshwater lakes and the brackish Caspian Sea. Fifteen species are ...

'' Smith, 1873

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q601140 Mysida