Nebalia herbstii
Encyclopedia
Nebalia herbstii is a leptostraca
n found in the north east Atlantic
, including Galway Bay
, Ireland
. It is found in the intertidal zone
in sandy and rocky shores. Total lengths are usually in the range of 2–6 mm (0.078740157480315–0.236220472440945 in). N. herbstii can be distinguished from other Nebalia
species by a combination of characters:
Leptostraca
Leptostraca is an order of small, marine crustaceans. Its members, including the well-studied Nebalia, occur throughout the world's oceans and are usually considered to be filter-feeders. It is the only extant order in the subclass Phyllocarida...
n found in the north east Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, including Galway Bay
Galway Bay
Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city is located on the northeast side of the bay. It is about long and from to in breadth...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It is found in the intertidal zone
Intertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
in sandy and rocky shores. Total lengths are usually in the range of 2–6 mm (0.078740157480315–0.236220472440945 in). N. herbstii can be distinguished from other Nebalia
Nebalia
Nebalia is a genus of small crustaceans containing more than half of the species in the order Leptostraca, with around 30 species:*Nebalia abyssicola Ledoyer, 1997*Nebalia antarctica Dahl, 1990*Nebalia biarticulata Ledoyer, 1997...
species by a combination of characters:
- The denticles of pleon 6 and 7 are fairly short, rounded to obtusely pointed but never drawn out to acute constricted points.
- The length of the telsonTelsonThe telson is the last division of the body of a crustacean. It is not considered a true segment because it does not arise in the embryo from teloblast areas as do real segments. It never carries any appendages, but a forked "tail" called the caudal furca is often present. Together with the...
is longer than the length of pleon 7. - A major feature are the anal scales located beneath the telson and furca. They have a short point over the centre of the scale with an indistinct “shoulder” which slopes steeply.
- The thoracopods have endopods which are long and slender, they are distinctly longer than the exopod.
- The dorsal terminal spine of the peduncle is comparatively short, reaching ½ to ⅔ the length of the dorsal spine row of the exopod.
- On the fourth pleopods the posterolateral corner of the peduncle is nearly rectangular, only very slightly pronounced to form an acute point.
- The sixth pleopods are slightly more than twice as long as wide.