Biodiversity & Conservation

Lagoon sand shrimp - Gammarus insensibilis - General information

Lagoon sand shrimp

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Distribution map

Gammarus insensibilis recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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  • WC_Act_1981
  • UK_BAP

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Nicola White Text page icon Refereed by: Dr Martin Sheader

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 In England, distribution is restricted to the central southern coast with two isolated east coast sites. Not recorded west of Fleet in Dorset and is absent from the lagoons of Cornwall.
Habitat information icon Habitat information A species limited to sheltered, shallow, brackish water habitats with variety of sediments ranging from organic muds to shingle with various admixtures of sand and silt-clay. Gammarus insensibilis appears to be associated with the alga Chaetomorpha linum which may form extensive floating mats. Sheader & Sheader (1985) report that in the Mediterranean the species is generally subtidal down to 15m. In the UK lagoons are shallow so the species is found to a maximum depth of 2-3m.
Text page icon Description A small shrimp-like species which grows up to about 19 mm in length. The head has lateral lobes that slope forwards and the eyes are moderately large and kidney shaped. It is most easily confused with the more familiar Gammarus locusta. The most easily observed difference is the absence in the male Gammarus insensibilis of calceoli (club-shaped sensory projections) on the flagellum of the 2nd antennae.

This review can be cited as follows:

Nicola White 1999. Gammarus insensibilis. Lagoon sand shrimp. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 19/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3372>