Marine Species Identification Portal : Caridion gordoni

(Bate, 1858)

Description
Rostrum straight or very slightly down turned, about half the length of carapace and slightly longer than antennular peduncle; five to ten dorsal teeth (usually seven or eight), one ventral tooth (rarely two or three).
Carapace with antennal spine.
Stylocerite narrow, acutely pointed, 0.66 x length of antennular peduncle or slightly less.
Scaphocerite outer border straight or slightly concave, apex acutely rounded with apical spine not exceeding lamellar portion. Antennal flagellum about 0.75 x length of body. Third maxilliped longer than scaphocerite by as much as last two joints; epipod and exopod present.
Mandible with molar and incisor process, and three-segmented palp.
Carpus of pereiopod 2 two- segmented, chelae long and slender. Pereiopods 1-4 with epipods, pereiopod 5 with reduced setobranch. Pleonite 4 usually without ventro-posterior tooth in female.
Telson with two pairs of lateral spines.

Size
Length up to 27 mm.

Colour
Carapace and pleon scattered with red chromatophores, darkest on rostrum, otherwise virtually transparent.

Ecology
Normally found on rocky, sandy or gravelly substrata. It is not certain whether this species never swims up into the water column; adults may get caught with pelagic sampling. Ovigerous females occur from March to October.

Depth range
Down to 10-1,000 m, usually 20-500 m.

Distribution in the North Sea
All North Sea; larvae reported from the NW North Sea [CPR areas C2 and B2 (Lindley, 1987) CPR/NorthSea ].

World distribution
Ranges from Iceland and Norway southwards into the Bay of Biscay. In the W Atlantic, this species is known from Newfoundland to Chesapeake Bay.

[mainly after Smaldon, 1993]

Caridion gordoni