Thermosbaenacea
Encyclopedia
Thermosbaenacea is a group of crustacean
s that live in thermal springs in fresh water
, brackish water and anchialine habitat
s. They have occasionally been treated as a distinct superorder (Pancarida), but are generally considered to belong to the Peracarida
. Due to their troglobitic
lifestyle, thermosbaenaceans lack visual pigment
s and are therefore blind
.
The current distribution of some genera tallies well with the Miocene
extent of the Tethys Sea, and it is assumed that the extant taxa are derived from ancestors that lived in open marine habitats. Elsewhere, the distribution is consistent with the break-up of Pangaea
.
The developing embryo
s are carried by the adult under its carapace
until hatching.
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 that live in thermal springs in fresh water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
, brackish water and anchialine habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
s. They have occasionally been treated as a distinct superorder (Pancarida), but are generally considered to belong to the Peracarida
Peracarida
The superorder Peracarida is a large group of malacostracan crustaceans, having members in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. They are chiefly defined by the presence of a brood pouch, or marsupium, formed from thin flattened plates borne on the basalmost segments of the legs Other...
. Due to their troglobitic
Troglobite
Troglobites are small cave-dwelling animals that have adapted to their dark surroundings. Troglobite species include spiders, insects, fish and others. They live permanently underground and cannot survive outside the cave environment. Troglobite adaptations and characteristics include a heightened...
lifestyle, thermosbaenaceans lack visual pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
s and are therefore blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
.
The current distribution of some genera tallies well with the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
extent of the Tethys Sea, and it is assumed that the extant taxa are derived from ancestors that lived in open marine habitats. Elsewhere, the distribution is consistent with the break-up of Pangaea
Pangaea
Pangaea, Pangæa, or Pangea is hypothesized as a supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....
.
The developing embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s are carried by the adult under its 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...
until hatching.
Classification
Thirty-four species are currently recognised, in four families:- Thermosbaenidae Monod, 1927
- Thermosbaena mirabilis Monod, 1924
- Monodellidae Taramelli, 1924
- Monodella stygicola Ruffo, 1949 southern
- Tethysbaena aiakos Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena argentarii (Stella, 1951)
- Tethysbaena atlantomaroccana (Boutin & Cals, 1985)
- Tethysbaena calsi Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena colubrae Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena coqui Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena gaweini Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena haitiensis Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena halophila (S.L. Karaman, 1953)
- Tethysbaena juglandis Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena juriaani Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena lazarei Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena relicta (Por, 1962)
- Tethysbaena sanctaecrucis (Stock, 1976)
- Tethysbaena scabra (Pretus, 1991) (Balearic IslandsBalearic IslandsThe Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
) - Tethysbaena scitula Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena siracusae Wagner, 1994 (SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
) - Tethysbaena stocki Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena somala (Chelazzi & Messana, 1982)
- Tethysbaena tarsiensis Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena texana (Maguire, 1965) (TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) - Tethysbaena tinima Wagner, 1994
- Tethysbaena vinabayesi Wagner, 1994
- Tulumellidae Wagner, 1994
- Tulumella bahamensis Yager, 1988
- Tulumella grandis Yager, 1988
- Tulumella unidens Bowman & Iliffe, 1988
- Halosbaenidae Monod & Cals, 1988
- Limnosbaena finki Mestrov & Lattinger-Penko, 1969 and northern
- Halosbaena acanthura Stock, 1976 (CuraçaoCuraçaoCuraçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
) - Halosbaena fortunata Bowman & Iliffe, 1986 (Canary IslandsCanary IslandsThe Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
) - Halosbaena tulki Poore & Humphreys, 1992 (Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
) - Theosbaena cambodjiana Cals & Boutin, 1985