Ctenocalanus vanus
Geisbrecht (1888)
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Taxonomy
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Crustacea |
| Class | Maxillopoda |
| Subclass | Copepoda |
| Order | Calanoida |
| Family | Clausocalanidae |
| Genus | Ctenocalanus |
| Species | vanus |
Size
- Female: 0.92 - 1.16 mm
- Male: 1.20 – 1.26 mm
Distinguishing characteristics
- Pereiopod 3 and pereiopod 4 exopod outer margin with comb like serration along inner margin
- Pereiopod 5 asymmetrical, short, one segmented single leg present in female
- Male right pereiopod 5 absent or short stump
Male
- Right pereiopod 5 absent
- Left pereiopod 5 long, segment 5 attached to segment 4 apically
- Antennule 21 segmented
Female
- Antennule exceeds caudal rami by several segments
- Pereiopod 4 outer spines robust, expanded at base
- Pereiopod 3 and pereiopod 4 exopod outer margin with comb like serration along inner margin
- Pereiopod 5 asymmetrical, short, one segmented single leg present in female
Distribution
- Epipelagic-bathypelagic
- Inshore coastal, coastal and oceanic
- Australian distribution includes Great Barrier Reef, New South Wales, Melbourne and Tasmania
- World distribution: widespread in tropical and subtropical regions of all oceans
- Possibly found in sub-Arctic and sub-Antarctic waters, absent from polar regions
Ecology
- Found in Tasmanian coastal and oceanic waters between March to December, absent January and February
- Unselective herbivorous filter feeder
- Broadcast spawners
- Spawning is triggered by temperature, not by phytoplankton concentration
References
- Bradford-Grieve, J. M., E. L. Markhaseva, et al. (1999). Copepoda. South Atlantic Zooplankton. D. Boltovskoy. Leiden, The Netherlands, Backhuys Publishers. 1: 869-1098.
- Dakin, W. J. and Colefax A., (1940). "The plankton of the Australian coastal waters off New South Wales Part I." Publications of the University of Sydney: 210.