Bristled Longbeak Shrimp

Dichelopandalus leptocerus

This shrimp is translucent when living with red markings on its carapace. Its carapace has tiny irregular ridges with hairs. Its rostrum is 1.3 to 2 times the length of its carapace. It can reach 10 centimetres in total length.

Authority

(Smith, 1881)

Classification Details

Phylum: Arthropoda (arthropods); Subphylum: Crustacea (crustaceans); Order: Decopoda (decapod crustaceans).

Habitat

Found in the northwest Atlantic from Newfoundland to North Carolina. Also rarely in the northern Pacific. Found down to depths of 790 metres.

Diet

Predator. Feeds on small crustaceans such as krill, mysids and copepods.

Reproduction

Sexes are separate. These shrimp can live for two to three years.

Fun Facts

This species is unusual among the family of Pandalid shrimp in that it has separate sexes. Most other Pandalid species are sequential hermaphrodites (individuals transition from male to female or vice versa).

References

Pohle, GW (1988) A guide to the deep-sea shrimp and shrimp-like decapod Crustacea of Atlantic Canada. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 1657, 29 pp.

Stevenson DK, Pierce F (1984) Life history characteristics of Pandalus montagui and Dichelopandalus leptocerus in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Fisheries Bulletin 83: 219–233.