''Caprella equilibra'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

skeleton shrimp Caprellidae is a family of amphipods commonly known as skeleton shrimps. Their common name denotes the threadlike slender body which allows them to virtually disappear among the fine filaments of seaweed, hydroids and bryozoans. They are somet ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Caprellidae Caprellidae is a family of amphipods commonly known as skeleton shrimps. Their common name denotes the threadlike slender body which allows them to virtually disappear among the fine filaments of seaweed, hydroids and bryozoans. They are sometime ...

. It lives among other organisms on the seabed and occurs in both shallow and deep water in many parts of the world.

Description

The skeleton prawn is not closely related to other amphipods. A cephalothorax results from the head's partial fusion with the first and second thoracic segments. The body is slender, cylindrical, elongate and unflattened. The first and second thoracic segments bear maxillipeds and gnathopods (feeding appendages) respectively, the third bears gnathopods, and the sixth, seventh and eighth bear well-developed periopods (walking legs). The remaining thoracic segments and the small abdominal segments bear vestigial appendages. The tips of some of the appendages have grasping hooks to cling onto the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

. The male ''Caprella equilibra'' is about long while the female is about half that size.

Distribution and habitat

''C. equilibra'' has a cosmopolitan distribution. The type locality is the United States, where it is present on both coasts, and the range includes Argentina, Australia, Japan, Madagascar, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, West Africa, Western Europe and Venezuela. Its depth range is from the surface down to about . Its typical habitats include living concealed among

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families ( Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the ...

es,

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throug ...

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

and red algae,

hydroids Hydroids are a life stage for most animals of the class Hydrozoa, small predators related to jellyfish. Some hydroids such as the freshwater ''Hydra'' are solitary, with the polyp attached directly to the substrate. When these produce buds, ...

octocorals Octocorallia (also known as Alcyonaria) is a class of Anthozoa comprising around 3,000 species of water-based organisms formed of colonial polyps with 8-fold symmetry. It includes the blue coral, soft corals, sea pens, and gorgonians (sea fan ...

bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a ...

ns and

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

tunicate A tunicate is a marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata (). It is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ...

Ecology

This species lives on the seabed, moving much like a looping

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larva, larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterfly, butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawfly ...

: gripping with its front limbs, bending its body and drawing in its rear limbs, then releasing its front limbs and extending its body. It is mainly a

detritivore Detritivores (also known as detrivores, detritophages, detritus feeders, or detritus eaters) are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces). There are many kinds of invertebrate ...

but has a more varied diet than some other caprellids, ingesting some of the

to which it clings and even feeding on the

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a cr ...

collected by the polyps.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4466669 Corophiida Crustaceans described in 1818 Taxa named by Thomas Say