Biodiversity & Conservation

A sand digger shrimp - Bathyporeia pelagica - General information

A sand digger shrimp

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Distribution map

Bathyporeia pelagica recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Bathyporeia pelagica is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Georgina Budd and Lisa Curtis Text page icon Refereed by: Dr John Fish

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Arthropoda Arthropods, joint-legged animals, e.g. insects, crustaceans & spiders
Class Malacostraca Crabs, lobsters, sand hoppers and sea slaters
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Found on sandy coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Found in wet, clean, fine to medium sand, from slightly above the mean tide level into the shallow sublittoral; often abundant above mean tide level.
Text page icon Description A small crustacean that grows to approximately 6-8 mm in length. Its body is laterally compressed with two pairs of antennae and seven pairs of thoracic limbs. Antenna 1 is shorter than antenna 2, and holds an accessory flagellum. The basal segment of antenna 1 is very large, and rectangular in shape. The remaining segments of antenna 1 are smaller and arise at right angles to the basal segment, a feature known as geniculate, and characteristic of the genus. The body appears semi-transparent to white, with varying degrees of red pigment associated with the abdomen. The eyes are red in colour and easily visible.

This review can be cited as follows:

Georgina Budd and Lisa Curtis 2007. Bathyporeia pelagica. A sand digger shrimp. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 19/06/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2740>