Mictacea is a monotypic
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
of
crustaceans. It was originally erected for three species of small
shrimp
Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
-like
animals of the deep sea and
anchialine caves.
They were placed in two families, the
Mictocarididae and
Hirsutiidae,
[ but Hirsutiidae is now placed in order Bochusacea, leaving Mictacea with a single species, '' Mictocaris halope''.
]
Description
Mictaceans have a brood pouch (marsupium) and biramous thoracic limbs, but lack a carapace
A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), 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 tor ...
. They have eyestalks but "no functioning visual elements".
History
The existence of animals resembling the Mictacea had been predicted by Frederick Schram in the early 1980s.
Two groups of scientists independently discovered the animals in 1985, and, once they learnt of each other's work, agreed to work together on the paper describing the new order.
Species
A single species is recognised:
; Mictocarididae Bowman & Iliffe, 1985
*'' Mictocaris halope'' Bowman & Iliffe, 1985
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1058220
Malacostraca
Crustacean orders