mysid

Mysids are small, shrimp-like crustaceans, known as "opposum shrimp" due to a brood pouch in mature females. Most Antarctic mysids are hyperbenthic, living above the bottom [1]. There are 37 mysid species in the Antarctic region, with nineteen being endemic [1]. Depending on the species, mysids may feed on small particles collected by grooming their body surface, capture zooplankton, or scavenge.

Mysids may be found in large swarms and are an important part of many fish diets. Antarctic mysid predators include brittle stars (Astrotoma agassizii), fish (dragonfish Cygnodraco mawsoni; mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari; Antarctic cod Dissostichus mawsoni; spiny plunderfishes - family Harpagiferidae), birds (blackbellied storm petrel Fregetta tropica; Wilson's storm petrel Oceanites oceanicus), and the crabeater seal Lobodon carcinophaga [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9].

1: Antarctic Science 10(1):3-11, 1998; 2: Antarctic Science 10(1):55-61, 1998; 3: Polar Biology 19(5):354- 357, 1998; 4: Marine Ecology Progress Series 108(1-2):43-57, 1994; 5: Journal of Zoology 216(1):83-102, 1988; 6: Polar Biology 6(1):43-45, 1986; 7: Biology of the Antarctic Seas XVII. Washington DC : American Geophysical Union, 1986. pp.1-28. Antarctic Research Series, volume 44; 8: Antarctic Nutrient Cycles and Food Webs. Proceedings of the 4th SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology, September 1983. WR Siegfried, PR Condy, and RM Laws, eds. Berlin : Springer-Verlag, 1985. pp.430-436; 9: Copeia 3:686- 693, 1981

Text ©Peter Brueggeman. Photographs ©Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan). Photographs may not be used in any form without the express written permission of Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan).