''Filhollianassa filholi'' is a ghost shrimp of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Callianassidae Callianassidae is a family of ghost shrimp crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Axiidea, within the order Decapoda. Phylogeny The cladogram below shows Callianassidae's placement within Axiidea, from analysis by Wolfe ''et al.'', 2019. Gene ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, which grows up to long. It was known as ''Biffarius filholi'' until a 2019 taxonomic revision of the group. It is also known as a yabby in Australia.

Taxonomy and etymology

''Filhollianassa filholi'' as was originally described by

Alphonse Milne-Edwards Alphonse Milne-Edwards (Paris, 13 October 1835 – Paris, 21 April 1900) was a French mammalogist, ornithologist, and carcinologist. He was English in origin, the son of Henri Milne-Edwards and grandson of Bryan Edwards, a Jamaican planter who ...

as ''Callianassa filholi'' A. Milne-Edwards,1879. It was named after

Henri Filhol Henri Filhol Henri Filhol (13 May 1843 – 28 April 1902) was a French medical doctor, malacologist and naturalist born in Toulouse. He was the son of Édouard Filhol (1814-1883), curator of the Muséum de Toulouse. After receiving his early e ...

, who collected specimens of it from

Stewart Island Stewart Island (, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a la ...

, New Zealand.

Description

''Filhollianassa filholi'' live in an underground burrow in sand''.'' The shrimp has flap-like abdominal appendages called pleopod which it uses for swimming and creating water movement through its burrow. It has the ability to turn somersaults while moving through its tunnels. It uses its wide tail fan for stabilisation within the burrow. The male has two claws of which one is noticeably larger than the other. Fertilised eggs, yellow in colour, are carried by the female on her abdomen.

References

External links

* ''Filhollianassa filholi'' discussed on

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Critter of the Week ''Critter of the Week'' is a weekly RNZ National programme about endangered and neglected native plants and animals of New Zealand. Beginning in 2015, ''Critter of the Week'' is an approximately 15-minute discussion between Nicola Toki (origi ...

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15 March 2024
Marine crustaceans of New Zealand Axiidea Crustaceans described in 1878 {{Axiidea-stub