Relevant Synonyms - Misidentification -  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Rostrum with 2-4 teeth on upper margin, 4-6 on lower margin, tip bifid. Antennal spine stout. Eyes large, ocellus largely fused with cornea. Carapace lacking crests. Pterygostomian angle rounded. Fourth abdominal segment lacking spine on postero-ventral margin; fifth abdominal segment bearing a stout dorso-lateral spine on each side. Telson shorter than sixth abdominal segment. Mandible with incisive and molar processes and three segmented palp. Second pair of walking legs chelate, carpus with 13-14 segments. color : unrecorded. common size : CL 0.9 cm (max.), ovigerous females from 0.5 cm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Carpus of second pair of walking legs with 13-14 segments. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Poorly known. habitat : benthic, on sandy, muddy or rocky bottoms, 75-360 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Alboran Sea, 1996 [1980]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Southeastern Atlantic origin, from Morocco to Namibia, Cape Verde Isl. Mediterranean : a single record from the Alboran Sea (d'Udekem d'Acoz and Duris, 1996 [1980]). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Known from single record. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Strait of Gibraltar. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Burukovsky R.N., 1988. New records of shrimps in waters of the tropical eastern Atlantic. Biologicheskie Nauki (Sciences biologiques), 1: 37-41. Crosnier A. and J. Forest, 1973. Les crevettes profondes de l'Atlantique oriental tropical. Faune Tropicale, 19: 1-409 (ORSTOM, Paris). d'Udekem d'Acoz C. and Z. Duris, 1996. First records of Merhippolyte ancistrota Crosnier and Forest, 1973 in Moroccan Atlantic waters and in the Mediterranean Sea (Decapoda, Merhippolytidae). Crustaceana, 69(7): 890-897. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2002 ©ciesm 2002