Chirocephalus diaphanus
| Chirocephalus diaphanus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Female (top) & male (bottom) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Branchiopoda |
| Order: | Anostraca |
| Family: | Chirocephalidae |
| Genus: | Chirocephalus |
| Species: | C. diaphanus |
| Binomial name | |
|
Chirocephalus diaphanus Prévost, 1803 |
|
| External identifiers for Chirocephalus diaphanus | |
|---|---|
| Encyclopedia of Life | 338917 |
| ITIS | 624134 |
| NCBI | 91569 |
Chirocephalus diaphanus is a widely distributed European species of fairy shrimp that lives as far north as Great Britain, where it is the only surviving species of fairy shrimp and is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is a translucent animal, about 0.5 in (13 mm) long, with reddened tips to the abdomen and appendages. The body comprises a head, a thorax bearing 11 pairs of appendages, and a seven-segmented abdomen. In males, the antennae are enlarged to form "frontal appendages", while females have an egg pouch at the end of the thorax.
The life cycle of C. diaphanus is extremely fast, and the species can only persist in pools without predators. The eggs tolerate drying out, and hatch when re-immersed in water. C. diaphanus was first reported in the scientific literature in 1704, but was only separated from other species and given its scientific name in 1803. The specific epithet diaphanus refers to the animal's transparency.
Chirocephalus diaphanus is a "beautiful, translucent crustacean". Its body is subcylindrical, and around 0.5 inches (13 mm) long, mostly transparent, but with black eyes, and red tips to the appendages and abdomen.
The body becomes wider towards the head, which has a conspicuous mandibular groove. It also bears a pair of stalked compound eyes, as well as a sessile median eye, two pairs of antennae, and the mouthparts. The mouthparts comprise a labrum, directed backwards over the mouth and pairs of mandibles, paragnatha, maxillules and vestigial maxillae.
...
Wikipedia