FAMILY
Euphausiidae
TAXONOMY
Thysanoessa raschii M. Sars, 1864.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
About 0.98 in (2.5 cm) long at maturity, weighing about 0.004 oz (0.13 g).
DISTRIBUTION
Arctic Ocean, northern North Atlantic, and northern North Pacific.
HABITAT
Cool temperate to Arctic regions, near shoreline, from the surface to about 984 ft (300 m) in depth.
BEHAVIOR
Tends to remain below 328 ft (100 m) depth in the winter. In the summer, resumes its diurnal vertical migration and surface swarming.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Diet is primarily phytoplankton; little copepod feeding observed.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Spawning occurs in the spring in the temperate zone, and during the summer in colder waters. Maturity reached in the second year; individuals generally participate in two spawning seasons. Lifespan is two years or more.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Experimental fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.
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