Corophium

Corophium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Amphipoda
Suborder:	Corophiidea
Family:	Corophiidae
Genus:	Corophium Latreille, 1806
Species
See text

Corophium is a genus of the amphipod family Corophiidae ^[1]. Most Corophium species live in marine and brackish water environments.

Species

The genus consists of at least 50 described species, including:

C. acherusicum Costa, 1851 C. aculeatum Chevreux, 1908 C. acutum Chevreux, 1908 C. affine Bruzelius, 1859 C. alienense Chapman, 1988 C. annulatum Chevreux, 1908 C. arenarium Crawford, 1937 C. baconi Shoemaker, 1934 C. bidentatum Mona & Shoukr, 1989 C. bonnellii Milne-Edwards, 1830 C. brevis Shoemaker, 1949 C. chelicorne Sars, 1895 C. clarencense Shoemaker, 1949 C. colo Lowry, 2004 C. crassicorne Bruzelius, 1859 C. curvispinum Sars, 1895 (= C. sowinskyi) C. denticulatum Ren, 1995 C. ellisi Shoemaker, 1943 C. heteroceratum Yu, 1938 C. hongkongense Hirayama, 1986 C. insidiosum Crawford, 1937 C. lacustre Vanhoffen, 1911 C. lamellate Hirayama, 1984 C. louisianum Shoemaker, 1934 C. maeoticum Sowinsky 1898

C. major Ren, 1992 C. minimum Schiecke, 1979 C. mortoni Hirayama, 1986 C. mucronatum Sars C. multisetosum Stock, 1952 C. nobile Sars C. oaklandense Shoemaker, 1949 C. orientale Schellenberg, 1928 C. robustum Sars C. rotundirostre Stephensen, 1915 C. runcicorne Della Valle, 1893 C. salmonis Stimpson, 1857 C. serraticaudatum Ren, 2003 C. sextonae Crawford, 1937 C. simile Shoemaker, 1934 C. sinense Zhang, 1974 C. spinicorne Stimpson, 1857 C. steinegeri Gurjanova, 1951 C. stimpsoni Shoemaker, 1941 C. triangulopedarum Hirayama, 1986 C. tridentium Hirayama, 1986 C. tuberculatum C. uenoi Stephensen, 1932 C. volutator (Pallas, 1766) (= C. grossipes (Templeton, 1836), C. longicorne Latreille)

Corophium acherusicum

C. acherusicum is a small (5 mm) species. It is brown with a very short abdomen, and has three little spines on its enlarged second antennae. It has rows of hair on its anterior legs, which it uses to filter food from the water ^[2]. It naturally occurs in Europe, but was introduced to harbours of Australia by travelling in the ballast water of ships ^[3].

Corophium affine

C. affine is a small (up to 5 mm) species which burrows in bottom sediments, between 10 and 60 metres deep. It occurs on coasts of Northern Europe ^[4].

Corophium arenarium

C. arenarium may reach 7 mm long and looks very similar to C. volutator. It burrows in bottom sediments, between 10 and 60 metres deep. C. arenarium occurs on the coasts of France and the North Sea ^[5].

Corophium bonnellii

C. bonnellii is a widespread species which may grow up to 5½ mm. It occurs in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and on European and American coasts. The male of this species is not yet known ^[6].

Corophium crassicorne

C. crassicorne lives in shallow subtidal muddy sand and may grow up to 5 mm. C. crassicorne occurs on American and European coasts from Norway to the Black Sea ^[7].

Corophium curvispinum

C. curvispinum lives in salt, brackish and fresh water, and may reach 6 mm in length. It occurs in the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and adjoining rivers, and in river systems emptying into the southern Baltic and North Sea ^[8]. As of January 2009, is listed as an invader of the U.S. Great Lakes. ^[9]

Corophium heteroceratum

C. heteroceratum naturally occurs in Southeast Asia, but was introduced to San Francisco Bay, probably carried in the ballast water of cargo ships ^[10].

Corophium insidiosum

C. insidiosum builds tubes of mud and detritus on weeds, usually in brackish shallow subtidal waters, such as brackish lagoons, ditches and rivers. C. insidiosum occurs on American and European coasts from southern Baltic to eastern Mediterranean of North and South, and around Japan, and may grow up to 5 mm long ^[11].

Corophium lacustre

C. lacustre lives in nearly fresh water; it is white and up to 6 mm long. It occurs mainly on the Atlantic coast of North America, the North Sea and the Baltic ^[12].

Corophium multisetosum

C. multisetosum may grow to 9 mm and builds mud burrows in clay or sand in fresh or weakly brackish habitats. It occurs on the coasts of the Netherlands, France, Germany, Poland and the British Isles ^[13].

Corophium sextonae

C. sextonae is 5 mm long and builds tubes of mud on algae, from shallow water up to 50 m deep. It occurs naturally in New Zealand, but was introduced into Plymouth, Devon in the 1930s. In the late 1970 it was introduced to Ireland, possibly by natural means from Devon. It can also be found along the European coast from southern Norway to the Mediterranean ^[14][15].

Corophium volutator

Main article: Corophium volutator

C. volutator inhabits the upper layers of sand on the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, as well as in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada. They grow to 10 mm, and can occur in huge quantities: up to 40,000 per square metre have been observed ^[16][17].

References

1. ^ "ERMS taxon details: Corophium Latreille, 1806". European Register of Marine Species. 2004-12-21. http://www.marbef.org/data/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=101489. 
2. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium acherusicum". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=293. 
3. ^ "Corophium acherusicum". Museum Victoria Australia. 1996. http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/crust/mov1301t.html. 
4. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium affine". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=294. 
5. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium arenarium". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=295. 
6. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium bonnellii". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=296. 
7. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium crassicorne". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=297. 
8. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium curvispinum". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=298. 
9. ^ According to news item on WBBM-AM's website[1]
10. ^ "Corophium heteroceratum Yu, 1938". California Academy of Sciences. 2002. http://www.calacademy.org/research/izg/SFBay2K/Corophium%20heteroceratum.htm. 
11. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium insidiosum". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=299. 
12. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium lacustre". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=300. 
13. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium multisetosum". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=301. 
14. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium sectonae". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=302. 
15. ^ "Corophium sextonae". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1708. 
16. ^ M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo (1999). "Corophium volutator". Macrobenthos of the North Sea. http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=303. 
17. ^ J. A. Percy (1999). "Master of the Mudflats". Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership. http://www.bofep.org/corophiu.htm.