Mystacocarida

Mystacocarida
Ctenocheilocaris sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Maxillopoda
Subclass:	Mystacocarida Pennak & Zinn, 1943
Order:	Mystacocaridida Pennak & Zinn, 1943
Family:	Derocheilocarididae Pennak & Zinn, 1943
Genera
Ctenocheilocaris Derocheilocaris

Mystacocarida is a subclass of crustaceans, that form part of the meiobenthos. They are less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long, and live interstitially in the intertidal zones of sandy beaches.

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of Mystacocarida is extremely conservative, since all mystacocarids look superficially alike. As of 2009^[update], there are 13 described species divided between two genera, Derocheilocaris (8 species) and Ctenocheilocharis (5 species).^[1] The first mystacocarids to be found were discovered on a beach on southern New England in 1939.^[2]

Distribution

Mystacocarids occur along the coasts of South and North America, southern Africa, and the western Mediterranean.^[3] The lack of records from other parts of the world are "almost certainly" due to a lack of appropriate sampling, rather than a true absence.^[1]

Decsription

Mystacocarids are tiny crustaceans, less than 1 millimetre (0.04 in) long, that live in the spaces between sand grains on intertidal beaches.^[2] They have a cylindrical body, with five thoracic and five abdominal segments. There are four pairs of small thoracic appendages.^[4]

The head is relatively large and divided into two by a stricture, so that the latter part gives the appearance of being a part of the thorax. This region bears a pair of maxillipeds, and the head also has two pairs of maxillae, a pair of limb-like mandibles, and two pairs of long antennae. The appendages on the head are much longer than those on the thorax, and have a number of fine hairs that the animal uses to strain detritus from the water to feed on. They have a single naupliar eye.^[4] After mating, mystacocarids lay tiny eggs which hatch into a nauplius or metanauplius larva.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Joel W. Martin (2009). "Cephalocarida and Mystacocarida (Crustacea) of the Gulf of Mexico". In Darryl L. Felder & David K. Camp. Biodiversity. Gulf of Mexico: Origin, Waters, and Biota. 1. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 821–824. ISBN 9781603440943. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CphA8hiwaFIC&pg=PA821. 
2. ^ ^{a b} James T. Carlton & Joel W. Martin (2007). "Mystacocarida". In James T. Carlton. The Light and Smith manual: intertidal invertebrates from central California to Oregon (4th ed.). University of California Press. p. 413. ISBN 9780520239395. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=64jgZ1CfmB8C&pg=PA413. 
3. ^ ^{a b} J. K. Lowry (October 2, 1999). "Mystacocarida (Maxillipoda)". Crustacea, the Higher Taxa. Australian Museum. http://www.crustacea.net/crustace/www/mystacoc.htm. Retrieved July 25, 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Robert D. Barnes (1982). Invertebrate Zoology. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. pp. 692–693. ISBN 0-03-056747-5.