Squilla Mantis on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''Squilla mantis'' is a
''S. mantis'' digs burrows in muddy and sandy bottoms near the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent warm parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It remains in its burrow during the day and comes out at night to predation, hunt, and in the winter to mating, mate.
It is found around the entire coast of the Mediterranean, and in the Atlantic Ocean south from the Gulf of Cádiz to Angola, as well as around the Canary Islands, and Madeira. It has historically been recorded from the Bay of Biscay and the British Isles, but is not known to occur there any more. It is particularly abundant where there is significant Surface runoff, run-off from rivers, and where the substrate is suitable for burrowing. In the Mediterranean, the outflows from the Nile, Po River, Po, Ebro and Rhône River, Rhône provide these conditions.
The Alpheidae, alpheid shrimp ''Athanas amazone'' often lives in the burrows of ''S. mantis'', despite being of a similar size to other shrimp which ''S. mantis'' feeds on. The relationship between the two species remains unknown, although a second similar case has been reported for the species ''Athanas squillophilus'' in the burrows of ''Oratosquilla oratoria'' in Japanese waters.
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of mantis shrimp
Mantis shrimp are carnivorous marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda (). Stomatopods branched off from other members of the class Malacostraca around 400 million years ago, with more than 520 extant species of mantis shrimp known. All li ...
found in shallow coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean: it is also known as "pacchero" or "canocchia". Its abundance has led to it being the only commercially fished mantis shrimp in the Mediterranean.
Description
Individuals grow up to long, and this mantis shrimp is of the Mantis shrimp#Claws, ''spearer'' type. It is generally dull brown in colouration, but has two brown Eyespot (mimicry), eye spots, circled in white, at the base of the telson. Other species – including ''smashers'' – are also sold in the aquarium trade as ''Squilla mantis''.Distribution and ecology
''S. mantis'' digs burrows in muddy and sandy bottoms near the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent warm parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It remains in its burrow during the day and comes out at night to predation, hunt, and in the winter to mating, mate.
It is found around the entire coast of the Mediterranean, and in the Atlantic Ocean south from the Gulf of Cádiz to Angola, as well as around the Canary Islands, and Madeira. It has historically been recorded from the Bay of Biscay and the British Isles, but is not known to occur there any more. It is particularly abundant where there is significant Surface runoff, run-off from rivers, and where the substrate is suitable for burrowing. In the Mediterranean, the outflows from the Nile, Po River, Po, Ebro and Rhône River, Rhône provide these conditions.
The Alpheidae, alpheid shrimp ''Athanas amazone'' often lives in the burrows of ''S. mantis'', despite being of a similar size to other shrimp which ''S. mantis'' feeds on. The relationship between the two species remains unknown, although a second similar case has been reported for the species ''Athanas squillophilus'' in the burrows of ''Oratosquilla oratoria'' in Japanese waters.
Fishery
''S. mantis'' is the only native mantis shrimp, stomatopod to be fished for on a commercial scale in the Mediterranean. Over 7,000 tonne, t is caught annually, 85% of which is caught on Italy, Italian shores of the Adriatic Sea, with further production in the Ionian Sea, off Sardinia, off the coast of Catalonia and off the Balearic Islands. Outside the Mediterranean, it is consumed in Andalusia in the Gulf of Cadiz under the name of "''galeras''".References
{{Authority control Stomatopoda Crustaceans of the Atlantic Ocean Edible crustaceans Commercial crustaceans Crustaceans described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus