Paramoera walkeri | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Amphipoda |
Family: | Pontogeneiidae |
Genus: | Paramoera |
Species: | P. walkeri
|
Binomial name | |
Paramoera walkeri (
Stebbing, 1906)
| |
Synonyms [1] | |
Atylus antarcticus |
Paramoera walkeri is an amphipod of the genus Paramoera. It lives around Antarctica. [2]
Like all amphipods, P. walkeri are sexually dimorphic: [3] the males may grow up to 21.7 millimetres (0.85 in); females, 22.8 millimetres (0.90 in). Newborns are approximately 2.5 millimetres (0.098 in). Males mature after 14–15 months, at about 50% their final size. [4] Juvenile P. walkeri are more sensitive to hydrocarbons, such as from oil spills, than older specimens. [5]
P. walkeri live in the benthic zone of the Southern Ocean, all around Antarctica, down to a depth of 310 metres (1,020 ft). [2] During the early winter, P. walkeri migrate upward to the ice, and many congregate around patches of algae, [6] in such abundance that they nearly cover the underside of the sea ice sheets. [7] They are also found in the sublittoral zone, and the bottom level of other shallow locations around the Antarctic coast. [8]
As omnivores, they eat phytoplankton, cryophilic flora, and Diphyllobothrium tapeworms, among other organisms, under the top level of ice. During the summer, their metabolism increases by 80% compared to winter levels. [9] Predators include Trematomus borchgrevinki, T. newnesii, T. bernacchii, Notothenia corriiceps neglecta, and Adélie penguins. [4]
During a female's second (occasionally third) winter, she releases pheromones, picked up by a male's antennae, signaling that readiness to mate. [4] The male then clings on to the female until she molts. The male releases its sperm into the female's marsupium, and the female releases up to 200 eggs. [3] [7] When the sea water becomes diluted, the eggs may swell up, to keep the total salinity around the embryos constant. They develop for four-and-a-half months, then hatch in the marsupium. The brooding young remain there for up to a month. [7] [2] [3]
This species was discovered by Thomas Roscoe Rede Stebbing in 1878, named Atylus antarcticus in 1903, and described as Atylus walkeri in 1906. [10] [1] [11] It was named after Alfred O. Walker, a fellow of the Linnean Society. [10]
{{
cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: location (
link)
Paramoera walkeri | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Amphipoda |
Family: | Pontogeneiidae |
Genus: | Paramoera |
Species: | P. walkeri
|
Binomial name | |
Paramoera walkeri (
Stebbing, 1906)
| |
Synonyms [1] | |
Atylus antarcticus |
Paramoera walkeri is an amphipod of the genus Paramoera. It lives around Antarctica. [2]
Like all amphipods, P. walkeri are sexually dimorphic: [3] the males may grow up to 21.7 millimetres (0.85 in); females, 22.8 millimetres (0.90 in). Newborns are approximately 2.5 millimetres (0.098 in). Males mature after 14–15 months, at about 50% their final size. [4] Juvenile P. walkeri are more sensitive to hydrocarbons, such as from oil spills, than older specimens. [5]
P. walkeri live in the benthic zone of the Southern Ocean, all around Antarctica, down to a depth of 310 metres (1,020 ft). [2] During the early winter, P. walkeri migrate upward to the ice, and many congregate around patches of algae, [6] in such abundance that they nearly cover the underside of the sea ice sheets. [7] They are also found in the sublittoral zone, and the bottom level of other shallow locations around the Antarctic coast. [8]
As omnivores, they eat phytoplankton, cryophilic flora, and Diphyllobothrium tapeworms, among other organisms, under the top level of ice. During the summer, their metabolism increases by 80% compared to winter levels. [9] Predators include Trematomus borchgrevinki, T. newnesii, T. bernacchii, Notothenia corriiceps neglecta, and Adélie penguins. [4]
During a female's second (occasionally third) winter, she releases pheromones, picked up by a male's antennae, signaling that readiness to mate. [4] The male then clings on to the female until she molts. The male releases its sperm into the female's marsupium, and the female releases up to 200 eggs. [3] [7] When the sea water becomes diluted, the eggs may swell up, to keep the total salinity around the embryos constant. They develop for four-and-a-half months, then hatch in the marsupium. The brooding young remain there for up to a month. [7] [2] [3]
This species was discovered by Thomas Roscoe Rede Stebbing in 1878, named Atylus antarcticus in 1903, and described as Atylus walkeri in 1906. [10] [1] [11] It was named after Alfred O. Walker, a fellow of the Linnean Society. [10]
{{
cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: location (
link)