Mictocaris
Encyclopedia
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 3–3.5 mm (0.118110236220472–0.137795275590551 ) long and is reflective. It is native to four anchialine limestone
caves in Bermuda: it was first discovered by divers in Crystal Cave, and then further populations were found in Green Bay Cave (South Harrington Sound Passage and North Shore Passage), Roadside Cave and Tucker's Town Cave.
Mictocaris is rarely encountered because it lives only in deep waters in the interior sections of the caves. It avoids sunlight and remains in isolated parts of the cave. It is usually seen swimming, but on rare occasions can be found resting or walking on a rock. When relocated into an aquarium they prefer the walls and surfaces of the glass. It is unknown what Mictocaris eats, but it has developed powerful molar and mandible muscles which allows them to chew productively. When originally found, the divers collected 56 specimens of Mictocaris, which can now be found in the National Museum of Natural History
.
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...
, which is endemic to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. It is the only species in the genus Mictocaris, and the family Mictocarididae.
It is 3–3.5 mm (0.118110236220472–0.137795275590551 ) long and is reflective. It is native to four anchialine limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
caves in Bermuda: it was first discovered by divers in Crystal Cave, and then further populations were found in Green Bay Cave (South Harrington Sound Passage and North Shore Passage), Roadside Cave and Tucker's Town Cave.
Mictocaris is rarely encountered because it lives only in deep waters in the interior sections of the caves. It avoids sunlight and remains in isolated parts of the cave. It is usually seen swimming, but on rare occasions can be found resting or walking on a rock. When relocated into an aquarium they prefer the walls and surfaces of the glass. It is unknown what Mictocaris eats, but it has developed powerful molar and mandible muscles which allows them to chew productively. When originally found, the divers collected 56 specimens of Mictocaris, which can now be found in the National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
.