Filhollianassa filholi

Filhollianassa filholi
F. filholi observed on Foxton Beach, North Island, New Zealand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Callianassidae
Genus: Filhollianassa
Species:
F. filholi
Binomial name
Filhollianassa filholi
Synonyms[1]
  • Callianassa filholi A. Milne-Edwards, 1879
  • Biffarius filholi (A. Milne-Edwards, 1879)
  • Trypaea filholi (A. Milne-Edwards, 1879)
F. filholi observed in its native beach habitat near Bowentown, North Island, New Zealand

Filhollianassa filholi is a ghost shrimp of the family Callianassidae, endemic to New Zealand, which grows up to 60 mm (2.4 in) long.[2] It was known as Biffarius filholi until a 2019 taxonomic revision of the group.[3] It is also known as a yabby in Australia.[4]

Taxonomy and etymology

Filhollianassa filholi was originally described by Alphonse Milne-Edwards as Callianassa filholi A. Milne-Edwards, 1879.[5]

Identification

Growing up to 60 mm long, the ghost shrimp is typically pale, translucent, or whitish in color[2]. The shrimp burrow into the sand and live underground. They have pleopods, which are flap-like abdominal appendages that can be used to move through the water and to burrow. The ghost shrimp also has a wide tail that can be used for stabilization. In males, one claw is larger than the other[4].

Geographic distribution and habitat

Natural global range - This ghost shrimp is endemic to New Zealand[5].

New Zealand range - The ghost shrimp can only be found in New Zealand on protected, sandy, or muddy marine shores[3].

Habitat preferences – The ghost shrimp can commonly be found in mid and low tide zones and shallow sub tidal zones of protected shores with sandy substrate. They burrow into the sand, even sometimes doing somersaults. Their tunnels are U shaped with an inhalant tunnel and an exhalent tunnel. Ghost shrimp support mudflat health through bioturbation, which is the releasing of nutrients back into the system through the turning over of mud.[6]

Life cycle and phenology

For the ghost shrimp, reproduction and mating usually begins in spring to early summer (September-December in New Zealand).[7] Male and female ghost shrimp use their burrow systems to interact[7]. Fertilization is external as females brood eggs beneath their abdomen[7]. Female ghost shrimp carry lots of eggs with their pleopods. Egg brooding lasts several weeks, depending on temperature. Females remain in their burrows at this time.[8]

Eggs hatch into free-swimming larvae that feed on microscopic plankton.[2] Ghost shrimp remain in the larval stage from days to weeks as the current disperses them.[2] This will peak during the summer (December-February in New Zealand).[6] They then begin to settle onto suitable sediments, such as mudflats and estuaries.[6] The larvae metamorphose into juvenile shrimp and begin burrowing.[6] This will happen around autumn (March - May in New Zealand).[6] Growth continues as adults burrow through the winter, search for mates, and juveniles molt and create more complex burrows as they grow.[6] Juveniles will reach maturity and begin mating within a couple of months to a year, depending on environmental conditions.[6] These conditions can include temperature, sediment types, tides and currents, and food availability.[6]

Diet, prey, and predators

Diet and foraging - Ghost shrimp is primarily a deposit feeder, meaning it consumes sediment and extracts organic materials. Some of the organic material extracts from the sediment include detritus (decaying plant and animal matter), microalgae (especially benthic diatoms), and bacteria and microorganisms.[6] The ghost shrimp uses its claws and mouthparts to collect sediment, sorts and ingests organic-rich fractions, and then expels the processed sediment as fecal mounds near burrow openings.[6] Feeding tends to occur below the surface as they are burrowing.[9] Ghost shrimp often forage more in warmer months.[9]

Predators, Parasites, and Diseases - Despite spending most of their lives being hidden under the sand, ghost shrimp can still be an important prey item.[10] Many fish eat them including flatfish and rays that excavate the sediment, drawing them out.[10] There are some shorebirds that eat the ghost shrimp, which include the long-billed curlews, willets, oystercatchers, and other probing birds during low tide when the burrows are closer to the air.[10] Some crabs can even invade burrows or capture exposed individuals.[10] All of these predators tend to dig into the sand or suction feed in order to get to the burrowed shrimp.[11] There are not many direct studies on parasites within ghost shrimp, but common parasites of other global ghost shrimp include bopyrid isopods, nematodes and protozoans.[11] The biggest risk for diseases for crustaceans are bacterial infections from low-oxygen sediments. Pollution is also a factor for the health of these shrimp.[12]

Other information

It was named after Henri Filhol, who collected specimens of it from Stewart Island, New Zealand.[5]

Etymology: The 'Filhol' in the genus and species is named in honor of Henri Filhol, a french naturalist, paleontologist and zoologist who significantly contributed to the study of crustaceans. The '-ianassa' in the genus is a common suffix used for genera within the family Callianaddidea which comes from the Greek 'lovely queen.'

References

  1. ↑ "Filhollianassa filholi (A. Milne-Edwards, 1879)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 M. Miller & G. Batt (1973). Reef and Beach Life of New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: William Collins (New Zealand) Ltd.
  3. 1 2 Poore, Gary C. B.; Dworschak, Peter C.; Robles, Rafael; Mantelatto; Fernando L., Felder; Darryl L. (2019). "A new classification of Callianassidae and related families (Crustacea: Decapoda: Axiidea) derived from a molecular phylogeny with morphological support". Memoirs of Museum Victoria. 78: 73–146. doi:10.24199/j.mmv.2019.78.05.
  4. 1 2 Carson, Sally; Morris, Rod (2017). Collins Field Guide to the New Zealand Seashore. HarperCollins. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-7755-4010-6.
  5. 1 2 3 Milne-Edwards, Alphonse (1879). "Additions à la famille des Thalassiens". Bulletin de la Société Philomatique de Paris (in French). 7 (7): 110–115.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Berkenbusch, K., & Rowden, A. A. (1999). Factors influencing sediment turnover by the burrowing ghost shrimp Callianassa filholi (Decapoda: Thalassinidea). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 238(2), 283–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0981(99)00019-2
  7. 1 2 3 da Silva, W. G., Shinozaki‐Mendes, R. A., Marinho, N. C. M., Costa, L. B., Matoso, M. A. L., & Botter‐Carvalho, M. L. (2025). Relative growth and morphological sexual maturity in four ghost shrimp species (Decapoda, Axiidea). Marine Ecology, 46(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70068
  8. ↑ Berkenbusch, K., & Rowden, A. A. (1998). Population dynamics of the burrowing ghost shrimp Callianassa filholion an intertidal sandflat in New Zealand (Decapoda: Thalassinidea). Ophelia, 49(1), 55–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/00785326.1998.10409373
  9. 1 2 Berkenbusch, K., Rowden, A., & Probert, P. (2000). Temporal and spatial variation in macrofauna community composition imposed by ghost shrimp Callianassa filholi bioturbation. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 192, 249–257. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps192249
  10. 1 2 3 4 Berkenbusch, K., & Rowden, A. A. (2006). An examination of the spatial and temporal generality of the influence of ecosystem engineers on the composition of associated assemblages. Aquatic Ecology, 41(1), 129–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-006-9053-3
  11. 1 2 Boyko, C. B., Williams, J. D., & Shields, J. D. (2017). Parasites (Isopoda: Epicaridea and Nematoda) from ghost and mud shrimp (Decapoda: Axiidea and Gebiidea) with descriptions of a new genus and a new species of bopyrid isopod and clarification of Pseudione Kossmann, 1881. Zootaxa, 4365(3), 251. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4365.3.1
  12. ↑ Shields, J. D. (2019). Climate change enhances disease processes in crustaceans: case studies in lobsters, crabs, and shrimps. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 39(6). https://doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruz072
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.