Glyptonotus antarcticus

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Glyptonotus antarcticus
Glyptonotus antarcticus (YPM IZ 047200).jpeg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Isopoda
Family: Chaetiliidae
Genus: Glyptonotus
Species:
G. antarcticus
Binomial name
Glyptonotus antarcticus
Eights, 1852 [1]

Glyptonotus antarcticus is a benthic marine isopod crustacean in the suborder Valvifera. This relatively large isopod is found in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. It was first described by James Eights in 1852 and the type locality is the South Shetland Islands. [1]

Contents

Description

Glyptonotus antarcticus has a typical maximum length of 9 cm (3.5 in), [2] though may reach 20 cm (8 in) in rare cases; [3] [4] this is large for an isopod, most of which are between 0.5 and 1.5 cm (0.2–0.6 in) in length. [5] Glyptonotus antarcticus has only five ommatidia, which is unusual for crustaceans and insects. [6] These are clustered into two pairs of compound eyes, a large pair on the dorsal surface and a smaller pair on the ventral surface. It is thought that the latter are useful when the animal is swimming, which it does in an upside-down position. [6] The whole surface of the animal is covered in minute cuticular outgrowths of feathery "hairs" and knobbly "scales", with the exception of the eyes, certain mouthparts, and feet. It is thought that these may help to prevent attachment of Foraminifera, larval organisms, and other encrusting epibionts on their body surface. [7]

A 2005 genetic study suggested that Glyptonotus antarcticus may in fact represent several distinct species, [2] otherwise known as a species complex.

Distribution and habitat

Glyptonotus antarcticus is native to the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, where it occurs in large numbers. [2] It lives on the seabed at depths ranging from the intertidal zone down to more than 600 m (2,000 ft). [1] [2]

Biology

Glyptonotus antarcticus is a carnivore and scavenger and is often caught in baited traps on the seabed. It is an opportunistic predator with a mixed diet which includes a high proportion of echinoderms, but it is also cannibalistic. [8] [9] Food supply is likely to be fairly constant as the species breeds at any time of year. [8] Females can breed when at least 7.5 cm (3 in) long. [9] The eggs and young are brooded for an extended period —more than 1½ years— in the female's marsupium where they are nourished by a maternal secretion. As typical of Antarctic isopods,[ clarification needed ] there is no pelagic larval stage. [10]

Research

Given its abundance and the fact that it is relatively easy to keep in aquaria, Glyptonotus antarcticus has become an important model organism used as a research object in ecological, biochemical and physiological studies. [2] [11] [12] [ needs update ]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gary Poore, Marilyn Schotte (2012). Schotte M, Boyko CB, Bruce NL, Poore GC, Taiti S, Wilson GD (eds.). "Glyptonotus antarcticus". World Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans Database. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Held, Christoph; Wagele, Johann-Wolfgang (2005). "Cryptic speciation in the giant Antarctic isopod Glyptonotus antarcticus (Isopoda: Valvifera: Chaetiliidae)" (PDF). Scientia Marina. 69 (suppl. 2): 175–181. Bibcode:2005ScMar..69S.175H. doi: 10.3989/scimar.2005.69s2175 .
  3. ↑ "Seabed (benthic) communities". Australian Government, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Australian Antarctic Division. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  4. ↑ White, M.G. (1970). "Aspects of the breeding biology of Glyptonotus antarcticus (Eights) (Crustacea, Isopoda) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands". In M.W. Holdgate (ed.). Antarctic Ecology. Vol. 1. Academic Press, London. pp. 279–285. ISBN   978-0123521026.
  5. ↑ Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard, S.; Barnes, Robert D. (2004). Invertebrate Zoology (7th ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 662. ISBN   978-81-315-0104-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 Meyer-Rochow, V. B. (1982). "The divided eye of the isopod Glyptonotus antarcticus: effects of unilateral dark adaptation and temperature elevation". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B. 215 (1201): 433–450. Bibcode:1982RSPSB.215..433M. doi:10.1098/rspb.1982.0052. S2CID   85297324.
  7. ↑ Meyer-Rochow, V. B. (1980). "Cuticular surface structures in Glyptonotus antarcticus — a marine isopod from the Ross Sea (Antarctica)". Zoomorphologie. 94 (2): 209–216. doi:10.1007/BF01081935. S2CID   9216365.
  8. 1 2 Clarke, A. (1979). "Assimilation efficiency of the Antarctic marine isopod Glyptonotus antarcticus". Marine Biology. 52 (2): 157–160. Bibcode:1979MarBi..52..157C. doi:10.1007/BF00390423. S2CID   85059011.
  9. 1 2 Janecki, T.; S. Rakusa-Suszczewski (2006). "Biology and metabolism of Glyptonotus antarcticus (Eights) (Crustacea: Isopoda) from Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica". Polar Bioscience. 19: 29–42.
  10. ↑ Janssen, H.H.; B. Hoese (1993). "Marsupium morphology and brooding biology of the Antarctic giant isopod, Glyptonotus antarcticus Eights 1853 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Chaetiliidae)". Polar Biology. 13 (3): 145–149. Bibcode:1993PoBio..13..145H. doi:10.1007/BF00238923.
  11. ↑ Leese, Florian; Mayer, Christoph; Held, Christoph (2008). "Isolation of microsatellites from unknown genomes using known genomes as enrichment templates". Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. 6 (9): 412–426. Bibcode:2008LimOM...6..412L. doi: 10.4319/lom.2008.6.412 .
  12. ↑ Römisch, Karin; Matheson, Tom (2003). "Cell biology in the Antarctic: studying life in the freezer" (PDF). Nature Cell Biology. 5 (1): 3–5. doi:10.1038/ncb0103-3. PMID   12511880. S2CID   28857122.
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