(Leach, 1814)

Description:
Rostrum straight, apex occasionally bifid; four to six dorsal teeth (rarely one to three, seven or eight), two ventral teeth (rarely none, one, three or four); one of the dorsal teeth behind the posterior edge of the orbit.
Carapace with antennal and branchiostegal spines. Antennules triramous; shorter ramus of outer flagellum about 0.8 x length of peduncle and fused for about 0.75 of its length to the longer ramus. Outer edge of stylocerite slightly convex, anterior border straight, apical spine short and stout.
Scaphocerite extends into proximal half of propus of pereiopod 2 (or to 0.5 of length of dactyl in juveniles), apical spine not exceeding lamellar portion. Third maxilliped extends to little over half length of scaphocerite; exopod present.
Mandible with incisor and molar process, but without palp. Dactyl of pereiopod 2 little over 0.33 x length of propus; carpus about 1.2 x length of merus, but occasionally up to 1.7 x merus length.
Telson with two pairs of lateral spines.

Size:
Length up to 50 mm, usually less.

Colour:
Almost transparent and consequently difficult to see in the field. Under magnification, small brownish-black pigment spots are visible.

Habitat:
Shallow water; hyperbenthic species, may swim up at night. A brackish water species, often found in shallow saltmarsh pools. Other brackish ponds and lagoons that have indirect communication with the sea. Never found in fully marine conditions.

Distribution in the North Sea:
All North Sea.

World distribution:
Ranges from the west Baltic and British isles southwards to the W Mediterranean.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Crustacea
Subclass Malacostraca
Superorder Eucarida
Order Decapoda
Suborder Dendrobranchiata
Infraorder Caridea
Family Palaemonidae
Subfamily Palaemoninae
Genus Palaemonetes
Species varians

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Palaemonetes varians (Leach, 1814)

Sorry, there are no scientific synonyms and common names available for this species

Moyse, J., & G. Smaldon, 1990. Crustacea III: Malacostraca Eucarida. In: The Marine Fauna of the British Isles and North-West Europe (eds. Hayward and Ryland, 1990). Clarendon Press, Oxford.

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