| Upogebia pugettensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Family: | Upogebiidae |
| Genus: | Upogebia |
| Species: | U. pugettensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Upogebia pugettensis (Dana, 1852) | |
Upogebia pugettensis, also known as the blue mud shrimp, is a species of mud lobster from the West Coast of North America. [1]
Upogebia pugettensis has an elongated and broad abdomen, including a well-developed tail fin (uropods). The shrimp measure up to 11 cm long in adulthood. Its snout (rostrum) is hairy and includes 3 teeth. They eat detritus which they bring into their burrow using their pleopods. Upogebia pugettensis is the host of many parasites: Pseudopythina rugifera , Phyllodurus abdominalis , and Orthione griffenis . [1] [2] [3]
Upogebia pugettensis is found from Valdez Narrows, Alaska, to Morro Bay, California. South of Morro Bay, U. macginitieorum , a very similar species to U. pugettensis, is found. [4]
Upogebia pugettensis lives in Y- or U-shaped burrows (0.6 to 1 m (2.0 to 3.3 ft) deep) that are located in inter-tidal mud flats, and they usually live in pairs. [1] [2] They can tolerate brackish water down to 10% seawater salinity. [2] With their burrows, they've been known to disrupt commercial oyster beds. [2] Their burrows are important dwellings for many species, including the arrow goby, hooded shrimp, Scleroplax granulata , pea crabs, and clams. [2]
One common predator to these benthic shrimp are the pacific staghorn sculpin. Parasites are also common, particularly the red copepod, which lives on the outside of the body. Another common parasite in Oregon's Yaquina Bay is Orthione griffenis . This blood-sucking parasite can castrate females and has been shown to lower the weights of infested hosts by an average of 7.8%. [5]
Upogebia pugettensis is currently facing a serious threat from the non-native isopod parasite Orthione griffenis (Markham, 2004). Female Upogebia pugettensis are infested with the parasite more than their male counterparts (80% compared to 57%). Female Orthione griffenis attach themselves to the gill of the shrimp. They then consume the blood of the host, which causes a metabolic burdening effect that greatly hampers reproductive ability. This has caused the decline. [2] [6]
In 2017 the infestation was found to have extended into British Columbia. [7] [8]
Sarcoptes scabiei or the itch mite is a parasitic mite found in all parts of the world that burrows into skin and causes scabies. Humans become infested by Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis; other mammals can be infested with different varieties of the mite. They include wild and domesticated dogs and cats, ungulates, wild boars, bovids, wombats, koalas, and great apes.
Isopoda is an order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both aquatic species, and terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax.
Cymothoa exigua, or the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic isopod of the family Cymothoidae. It enters a fish through the gills. The female attaches to the tongue, while the male attaches to the gill arches beneath and behind the female. Females are 8–29 mm (0.3–1.1 in) long and 4–14 mm (0.16–0.55 in) wide. Males are about 7.5–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) wide. The parasite severs the blood vessels in the fish's tongue, causing the tongue to fall off. It then attaches itself to the remaining stub of tongue and the parasite itself effectively serves as the fish's new "tongue".
Trypaea australiensis, known as the (marine) yabby or ghost nipper in Australia, or as the one-arm bandit due to their occasional abnormally large arm, and as the Australian ghost shrimp elsewhere, is a common species of mud shrimp in south-eastern Australia, and may be the only extant species in the genus Trypaea. T. australiensis is a popular bait used live or frozen by Australians targeting a range of species. It grows to a length of 6 centimetres (2.4 in) and lives in burrows in mudflats or sandbanks, especially in or near estuaries.
Upogebia deltaura is a species of mud lobster from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
The Cymothoidae are a family of isopods in the suborder Cymothoida found in both marine and freshwater environments. Cymoithoids are ectoparasites, usually of fish, and they include the bizarre "tongue-biter", which attaches to a fish's tongue, causing it to atrophy, and replaces the tongue with its own body. Ceratothoa oestroides is one of the most devastating ectoparasites in Mediterranean aquaculture. Around 40 genera and more than 380 species of cymothoid are recognised. Species of the Cymothoidae are generally found in warmer waters and rarely in the cool and cold climates.
The purple shore crab is a common crab of the family Varunidae that is indigenous to the west coast of United States, Canada, and Mexico. H. nudus was first described in 1847 by Adam White, and in 1851, James Dwight Dana formally classified the species. H. nudus is a small, amphibious crab that is similar physically and behaviorally to Pachygrapsus crassipes and Hemigrapsus oregonensis. The purple shore crab is generally a dark purple color with olive green, red, and white spots. Mating season for H. nudus begins in mid-winter and larval crabs undergo 5 zoeal stages and a juvenile stage. Adult crabs mainly feed on algae but will occasionally scavenge other animals. H. nudus prefers inter-tidal and sub-tidal zones, and it can oftentimes be found sheltering under rocks or other debris. H. nudus demonstrates complex compensatory mechanisms to counteract fluctuating salinity and water oxygen concentrations, permitting it to live in a variety of different environments.
Hemigrapsus oregonensis is a small shore crab of the family Varunidae; formerly classified under the family Grapsidae. It is known under several common names, including yellow shore crab, hairy shore crab, green shore crab, mud-flat crab, bay shore crab and Oregon shore crab. Despite its common name, the crab actually has a wide variety of coloration. It is found along the West Coast of the United States and Canada, specifically along shorelines and similar geographical areas. In 2009, H. oregonensis was included on a list of animals petitioning for the endangered species label, but there was not enough scientific information available for it to be considered as such, so it remains unevaluated to the present day.
Callianassa subterranea is a species of burrowing ghost shrimp. This species is known by such generic common names as "mud shrimp" and "ghost shrimp".
Neotrypaea californiensis, the Bay ghost shrimp, is a species of ghost shrimp that lives on the Pacific coast of North America. It is a pale animal which grows to a length of 11.5 cm (4.5 in). One claw is bigger than the other, especially in males, and the enlarged claw is thought to have a function in mating. N. californiensis is a deposit feeder that lives in extensive burrow systems, and is responsible for high rates of bioturbation. It adversely affects oyster farms, and its numbers are controlled in some places by the application of pesticides. It carries out an important role in the ecosystem, and is used by fishermen as bait.
Scleroplax is a genus of crabs in the family Pinnotheridae.
Lepidophthalmus turneranus, the Cameroon ghost shrimp, is a species of "ghost shrimp" or "mud lobster" that lives off the coast of West Africa. It occasionally erupts into dense swarms, one of which resulted in the naming of the country Cameroon.
The Bopyridae are a family of isopod crustaceans in the suborder Cymothoida. There are 1223 individual species contained in this family. Members of the family are ectoparasites of crabs and shrimp. They live in the gill cavities or under the carapace where they cause a noticeable swelling. Fossil crustaceans have occasionally been observed to have a similar characteristic bulge.
Pandalus montagui is a species of cold-water shrimp in the family Pandalidae. It is the type species of the genus Pandalus and is variously known as the pink shrimp, Aesop shrimp and Aesop prawn.
Cymothoa elegans is a species of parasitic isopod in the genus Cymothoa. It has rarely been recorded, with all records coming from the north coast of Java. They are in the arthropod phylum and can more closely be classified as crustaceans.
The arrow goby is a species of goby native to marine and brackish waters of the Pacific coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California. This species grows to a length of 6.4 centimetres (2.5 in) SL, though most do not exceed 4.2 centimetres (1.7 in) TL. This fish can also be found displayed in public aquaria. This species is the only known member of its genus.
Clausidium dissimile is a species of copepod that has been found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from Massachusetts to Florida. They are found on the bodies of mud shrimp of the family Callianassidae, or from water collected from mud shrimp burrows.
Thalassina anomala, known as the scorpion mud lobster, is a species of crustacean in the family Thalassinidae.
Orthione griffenis, or Griffen's isopod, is an isopod parasite present in the waters off East Asia and the West Coast of North America.
Neaeromya rugifera is a species of bivalve that inhabits the West Coast of North America.
