Sulcanus conflictus
Nicholls 1945
Taxonomy
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Crustacea |
| Class | Maxillopoda |
| Subclass | Copepoda |
| Order | Calanoida |
| Family | Sulcanidae |
| Genus | Sulcanus |
Size
- Size: 1.5-1.6 mm.
Distinguishing characteristics
- Slender elongated body.
- Conspicuous features are: a brush of very long setae on the 2nd maxilla that extend forward almost to the tip of the head.
- Very long 1st antennae that extend just beyond the tip of the caudal furcae.
- Prominent eye spot.
Distribution
- True estuarine species.
- Also found in inshore coastal waters.
- Recorded from Tasmania (Nyan Taw and Ritz 1978), Victoria (Newton 1994), New South Wales (Jarvis 1979) as well as Western Australia and Queensland.
Ecology
- Usually found in much lower densities than Gladioferans pectinatus, which is not surprising since it is carnivorous and is known to prey on the former species.
- Can tolerate a wide range of salinity (almost fresh to full strength seawater), and temperature (~9–26°C) (Newton 1994).
- Unlike Gladioferans pectinatus, it seems to be absent from estuaries during extended periods of freshwater flood.