Mictacea
Encyclopedia
Mictacea is the most recently established order
of crustacean
s, erected for five species of small shrimp
-like animal
s of the deep sea and anchialine caves.
(marsupium) and biramous thoracic limbs, but lack a carapace
. They have eyestalks but "no functioning visual elements".
in the early 1980s.
Two groups of scientists independently discovered the animals in 1985, and, once they learnt of each others work, agreed to work together on the paper describing the new order.
Hirsutiidae Sanders, Hessler & Garner, 1985
Mictocarididae
Bowman & Iliffe, 1985
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, erected for five species of small shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
-like animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s of the deep sea and anchialine caves.
Description
Mictaceans have a brood pouchBrood pouch (Peracarida)
The marsupium or brood pouch, is a characteristic feature of Peracarida, including the orders Amphipoda, Isopoda and Cumacea. It is an egg chamber formed by oostegites, which are appendices which are attached to the coxae of the first pereiopods...
(marsupium) and biramous thoracic limbs, but lack a carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal 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 tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
. They have eyestalks but "no functioning visual elements".
History
The existence of animals resembling the Mictacea had been predicted by Frederick SchramFrederick Schram
Frederick Robert Schram is an American palaeontologist and carcinologist. He received his B.S. in biology from Loyola University Chicago in 1965, and a Ph.D...
in the early 1980s.
Two groups of scientists independently discovered the animals in 1985, and, once they learnt of each others work, agreed to work together on the paper describing the new order.
Species
A total of five species are recognised, split between two families:Hirsutiidae Sanders, Hessler & Garner, 1985
- Hirsutia bathyalis Saunders, Hessler & Garner, 1985
- Hirsutia saundersetalia Just & Poore, 1988
- Thetispelecaris remex Gutu & Iliffe, 1998
- Thetispelecaris yurigako Ohtsuka, Hanamura & Kase, 2002
Mictocarididae
Mictocaris
Mictocaris halope is a species of freshwater crustacean, which is endemic to Bermuda. It is the only species in the genus Mictocaris, and the family Mictocarididae.It is long and is reflective...
Bowman & Iliffe, 1985
- Mictocaris haplopeMictocarisMictocaris halope is a species of freshwater crustacean, which is endemic to Bermuda. It is the only species in the genus Mictocaris, and the family Mictocarididae.It is long and is reflective...
Bowman & Iliffe, 1985