(No common name)

ORDER

Mystacocarida

FAMILY

Derocheilocaridae

TAXONOMY

Derocheilocaris typicus Pennak and Zinn, 1943.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

None known.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Very conservative body plan, with differences among them being in the details of the appendages and the sizes of trunk structures such as the toothed furrows. Has a large and robust maxillule with slight divisions of the precoxa, coax, and basis. The endites on the mouth appendages bear robust setulose setae. Caudal furca short, with terminal seta almost as long as basal article. (Illustration shown in chapter introduction.)

DISTRIBUTION

Found along the Atlantic coast of the United States from Cape Cod to southern Florida.

HABITAT

Lives deep in the beach, often several feet (meters) inland from the low-tide line where the seawater penetrates at high tide, but often individuals are above the water table at low tide.

BEHAVIOR

Crawls with its antennae among the sand grains.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds on small particles in the interstitial spaces on or microalgae and bacteria scraped from the surfaces of sand grains.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Eggs are laid freely in the beach and development is direct, proceeding from a metanauplius with four post-cephalic

somites. Develops through six metanaupliar, and one juvenile stage before reaching adult size. One additional molt as an adult occurs.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by the IUCN.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

First mystacocarid species to be discovered; a new crustacean order was created to house it.