Systellaspis cristata (Faxon, 1893)

Common name(s): Krygier's spinytail
Synonyms:
Phylum Arthropoda
 Subphylum Crustacea
  Class Malacostraca
   Subclass Eumalacostraca
    Superorder Eucarida
     Order Decapoda
      Suborder Pleocyemata
       Infraorder Caridea (true shrimp)
        Family Oplophoridae
Systellaspis cristata, caught off Point Conception, CA at 600-750 m depth.
(Photo by: Dave Cowles, Sept 1995)
Description:    This is a true shrimp from the family Oplophoridae, which lives in deep midwater offshore.  True (Caridean) shrimp have the second abdominal epimera overlapping that of segment 1 and 2.  Family Oplophoridae is almost entirely midwater, has exopodites on its pereopods, and pereopods 1 and 2 are longer and more stout than the others.  Systellaspis have a well-developed rostrum, no horizontal carina on the carapace and no dorsal ridge on the sixth abdominal segment.  The telson ends in a sharp point, with spines on the sides.  Their eyes are well pigmented, eggs are large. S. cristata has a long rostrum which is more than half as long as the rest of the carapace, and abdominal segment 5 has a median dorsal spine at its posterior edge.  The third abdominal segment also has a dorsal spine on the posterior edge, as seen above.  Total length to 81 mm for males and 169 for females.

How to Distinguish from Similar Species: S. braueri has a shorter, triangular rostrum (no more than half as long as the carapace) with the distal third free of spines

Geographical Range:  Vancouver Island to Gulf of Panama, Bay of Biscay to Angola in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean

Depth Range:  600-2500 m

Habitat:  Bathypelagic

Biology/Natural History:  This bathypelagic species is not very common.  Only 2 individuals have been recorded captured off British Columbia (Butler, 1980).  Atlantic individuals carry large reddish-orange eggs.


 
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References:

Dichotomous Keys:
  Kozloff 1987, 1996
  Wicksten, 2009
 
 

General References:
Butler TH (1980) Shrimps of the Pacific Coast of Canada. The Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 202: 1–280
 

Scientific Articles:
 

Web sites:
 


General Notes and Observations:  Locations, abundances, unusual behaviors:
 


Authors and Editors of Page:
Dave Cowles (2006):  Created original page