Biodiversity & Conservation

An amphipod - Ampelisca brevicornis

An amphipod

Do you have an image for this species? upload it here

Distribution map

Ampelisca brevicornis recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Ampelisca brevicornis?
If so please submit your record.

Ampelisca brevicornis is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Arthropoda Arthropods, joint-legged animals, e.g. insects, crustaceans & spiders
Class Malacostraca Crabs, lobsters, sand hoppers and sea slaters
Authority (Costa, 1853)
Recent synonyms Ampelisca bellianus
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Common around all British coasts.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Most common in fine or muddy sand mixed with shell, but also found in coarse sand and gravel, on the lower shore and sublittorally to a depth of 200 m.
Text page icon Description Ampelisca brevicornis is a typical amphipod with a laterally compressed, smooth, curved body. It grows up to 12mm long and is translucent whitish with scattered dark brown and/or yellow spots. The head bears 2 pairs of small eyes and 2 pairs of slender, unbranched antennae, the second pair being about twice as long as the first. Behind the head the body is not obviously separated into thorax (pereon) and abdomen (pleon) and each segment has its own, similar pair of limbs.
Identifying features
  • Laterally compressed, smooth, curved body up to 12mm long.
  • Translucent white with dark brown and/or yellow scattered spots.
  • Body not obviously segmented behind the head and each segment with its own pair of relatively similar limbs.
  • Head longer than the segments immediately behind it and cylindrical.
  • 2 pairs of slender antennae, the second pair being about twice as long as the first.
  • There are large coxal plates covering the tops of the limbs.
Additional information icon Additional information Accurate identification of amphipods can be difficult and usually requires some microscopic examination (see Lincoln, 1979).

This review can be cited as follows:

Penny Avant 2007. Ampelisca brevicornis. An amphipod. 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/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2485>