Urocorycaeus furcifer
Claus (1863)
Download a fact sheet for Urocorycaeus furcifer (PDF 381KB)
Taxonomy
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Crustacea |
| Class | Maxillopoda |
| Subclass | Copepoda |
| Order | Cyclopoida |
| Family | Corycaeidae |
| Genus | Urocorycaeus |
| Species | furcifer |
Size
- Female: 1.40 - 2.10 mm
- Male: 1.20 - 1.46 mm
Distinguishing characters
- Very long caudal rami
- Female with rounded process on genital somite and 2 spines on anal somite
- Male very similar to U. lautus but smaller
Male
- Similar to U. lautus but much smaller
- Caudal rami twice as long as genital somite and nearly 6 times as long as anal somite
Female
- Caudal rami 3.5 times longer than genital somite and 6 times longer than anal somite
- Prosome points extend to 1/3 of genital somite
- Genital somite with a rounded process on the dorsal surface about the middle
- Anal somite with 2 sharp spines on the dorsal surface at the distal margin
Distribution
- Epipelagic – mesopelagic
- Coastal and oceanic
- Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans
- Southern Ocean
- Polar to tropical
Ecology
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.
- Tanaka, O. (1957[1959]). On copepoda of the family Corycaeidae in Japanese waters 1957. Contx Dep Fish Kyushu Univ 3