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Temora turbinata

Temora turbinata (Dana, 1849)

Download a fact sheet for Temora turbinata (PDF 500KB)

Taxonomy

Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Maxillopoda
Subclass Copepoda
Order Calanoida
Family Temoridae
Genus Temora
Species turbinata

Size

  • Female: 1.05-1.61 mm
  • Male: 0.93-1.56 mm

Distinguishing characteristics

  • Cephalosome is typically widest and deepest part of the prosome, vaulted
  • 2 slender rostral filaments
  • Pedigerous segments 4-5 fused
  • P5 of female small, uniramous, 3-segmented; last segment dentate
  • P5 male asymmetrical, left leg larger and 4-segmented, segment 2 produced on inner edge into a long curved thumb-like process, right P5 3-segmented, terminal segment curved inwards, claw-like
  • Female urosome short, hardly protrudes ventrally
  • Very long caudal rami, may be asymmetrical

Male

  • 'Teardrop' shaped cephalosome
  • A1 right geniculate
  • P5 left terminal segment relatively long and broad
  • Urosome somite 4 is longer than the anal somite
  • Caudal rami are longer than urosome

Female

  • 'Teardrop' shaped cephalosome
  • Swimming legs compact
  • P5 with the inner spine on the terminal segment considerably shorter and thinner than the 2 terminal spines
  • Caudal rami are longer than urosome
  • Terminal seta 2 of the caudal rami is thick and asymmetrical

(Bradford Grieve 1999)

Distribution

  • Epipelagic-mesopelagic
  • Widely distributed in the tropical, subtropical and temperate parts of the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Westpacific area
  • In the Indian and Pacific Oceans it goes about as far south as 35°S; in the Pacific Ocean it goes as far north as 40°N.  In the Atlantic the distribution is more or less erratic
  • Widespread and common in Australian waters

Ecology

  • Undergo diel vertical migration
  • Isochronal development
  • Omnivorous, but primarily opportunistic herbivores

References

  • Bradford-Grieve, J. M. and Markhaseva, E.L. (1999). Copepoda. South Atlantic Zooplankton. D. Boltovskoy. Leiden, The Netherlands. Backhuys Publishers.1: 869-1098.
  • Bradford-Grieve, J. M. (1999). The marine fauna of New Zealand: pelagic calanoid copepoda: Bathypontiidae, Arietellidae, Augaptilidae, Heterorhabdidae, Lucicutiidae, Metridinidae, Phyllopodidae, Centropagidae, Pseudodiaptomidae, Temoridae, Candaciidae, Pontellida e, Sulcanidae, Acartiidae, Tortanidae. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Wellington, New Zealand.
  • Mauchline, J. 1998. The biology of calanoid copepods. Advances in Marine Biology 33: 1-701.
  • Razouls C., de Bovée F., Kouwenberg J. et Desreumaux N., 2005-2009. - Diversity and Geographic Distribution of Marine Planktonic Copepods. Available at http://copepodes.obs-banyuls.fr/en.
  • Turner (1984)