''Temora stylifera'' is a

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

primarily found in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and surrounding waters.

Description

The female of ''T. stylifera'' ranges in length from about , and the male is generally between about in length.

Distribution

''T. stylifera'' is primarily found in the Atlantic, off of the coasts of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It can also be found in large numbers 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 ...

and

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

Ecology

Life cycle and reproduction

Although ''T. stylifera'' is a continuous breeder, it experiences seasonal fluctuations in egg production rate. During one study in the

Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy (province of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean Sea. It i ...

, maximum egg production rates were found to occur from about February to July, with minimum rates found between about August and mid-October. In an earlier study, however, maximum egg production was found in late summer, with a period of minimal reproduction occurring in winter. Females can only go about three or four days before needing to remate to continue to produce fertile eggs. The eggs hatch about 88% of the time, with a decrease in success from September to October, and stage I nauplii survive to stage II about 12% of the time. All stages of ''T. stylifera'' (from stage I nauplii to adults) are most abundant in the Gulf of Naples from August to October. During this time, stage I through III nauplii are mainly concentrated in the top of depth (although they range to ), and the older nauplii are mainly concentrated in the closest to the surface (but they can be found deeper than this). Copepodite stages I through IV are generally more abundant than stage V copepodites. Stage I through III copepodites are usually found in the top of the water column, with the distribution of older stages being variable. At some stations, older copepodites are generally found in the top , whereas at some stations, the distributions may be deeper in the season of highest abundance.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6554920 Temoridae Crustaceans of the Atlantic Ocean Fauna of the Mediterranean Sea Fauna of the Red Sea Crustaceans described in 1849 Taxa named by James Dwight Dana