Image Key > Malacostraca > Decapoda > Lucifer hanseni
Lucifer hanseni
Nobili 1905
Taxonomy
| Phylum |
Arthropoda |
| Subphylum |
Crustacea |
| Class |
Malacostraca |
| Superorder |
Eucarida |
| Order |
Decapoda |
| Suborder |
Dendrobranchiata |
| Superfamily |
Sergestoidea |
| Family |
Luciferidae |
| Genus |
Lucifer |
Size
- Ranges in length from about 9 to 12 mm when adult.
Distinguishing characteristics
- Sometimes called the ghost shrimp.
- Appearance of an elongated shrimp; it almost seems to have been stretched.
- Carapace is extremely laterally compressed.
- Head section is longer and narrower than the thorax, resulting in the eyes and antennae being widely distant from the mouthparts.
- Rostrum is short and pointed.
- 3 pairs of pereiopods instead of the usual 5; the 3rd pair is partially chelate .
- Telson in males has 2 distinct projections on the ventral surface.
- Almost transparent.
Distribution
- South-eastern Australian waters (Dakin and Colefax 1940). Melbourne Harbour (Borradaille 1916). South-eastern Tasmanian waters and Derwent Estuary (Ong 1967, Nyan Taw 1978). Indian Ocean and South China Sea (Hansen 1919).
- Particularly abundant in the coastal waters of south-eastern Australia where it can often make sorting of other plankton difficult because of the large numbers.
- Nyan Taw (1978) reported that it is a dominant species in the inshore coastal waters of south-eastern Tasmania during winter months.
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