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UTAS Home > IMAS Home > Image Key > Copepoda > Calanoida > Paracalanidae >  Calocalanus pavo

Calocalanus pavo

Sewell (1914)

Download a fact sheet for Calocalanus pavo (PDF 293KB)

Taxonomy

Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Maxillopoda
Subclass Copepoda
Order Calanoida
Family Paracalanidae
Genus Calocalanus
Species pavo

Size

  • Female: 0.88 – 1.20 mm
  • Male: 1.04 mm

Distinguishing characteristics

  • Male P5 asymmetrical, uniramous, 4-segmented on the right and 5 on the left
  • Female urosome short, with broad bulbous genital somite when viewed from above

Male

  • Body quite different from female
  • May have plumose A1 and caudal rami
  • Cephalosome and pedigerous somite 1 separate, pedigerous somites 4-5 fused
  • Posterior prosome extending laterally square corners
  • P5 uniramous and asymmetrical, limbs of unequal length, both legs end in 2 small subequal spines, right leg does not extend as far as distal border of second segment of left leg
  • Urosome 5 segmented
  • Caudal rami longer than wide, not divergent

Female

  • A1 extends as far as caudal rami, terminal segments elongate, no transverse row of spinules on segments 1-7
  • Rostral filaments long and slender
  • Last pedigerous somite without spinules
  • Posterior surface of exopod segment 2 on P2-4 without spines

Distribution

  • Epipelagic and bathypelagic
  • Inshore coastal, coastal and oceanic
  • Australian distribution includes Great Barrier Reef, North West Cape and Tasmania
  • Widespread in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters of all oceans

Ecology

  • In the Mediterranean C. pavo found in warmer, less saline waters
  • Herbivorous filter feeder
  • Found mainly in the upper water column
  • Broadcast spawner
  • Reach maturity in eight days
  • Favourite prey item for several families of tropical fish larvae

References

  • Bradford-Grieve (1994)
  • Boltovskoy (1999)
  • Conway (2003)
  • Fernández de Puelles et al (2009)
  • Razouls et al 2010
  • Taw (1975)