(Linnaeus, 1758)

Description
Larval phase with three stages, recognisable by the abdominal spines and the shape of the telson.
First stage, about 6.5 mm length. All pereiopods present, each with exopods; pleopods absent. Pereiopods 1-3 chelate. Abdominal segments with conspiciuos dorsal spines, last segment with paired spines; telson produced into a pair of long, serrated spines.
Second stage, about 8 mm length; pleopods become developed.
Third stage, about 10 mm; pleopods and uropods well developed.
The adult is not pelagic and not described here Nephrops norvegicus. Female incubation period 7-8 months; larval hatching from April to August. Larvae are pelagic during ca. four weeks.

Size
Larval length 6-10 mm.

Depth range
Larva pelagic. Adult in shallow burrows in soft sediments; sublittoral to about 800 m [N.norvegicus-photo ].

Distribution in the North Sea
Northern and central North Sea; also Skagerrak and Kattegat.

Distribution
From N Norway and Iceland to Morocco and Mediterranean.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Malacostraca
Subclass Eumalacostraca
Superorder Eucarida
Order Decapoda
Suborder Pleocyemata
Infraorder Astacidea
Superfamily Nephropoidea
Family Nephropidae
Genus Nephrops
Species Nephrops norvegicus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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

Gurney, R., 1942. Larvae of decapod Crustacea. Ray Society Monograph, 129. London, 306 pp.

Hayward, P.J. and J.S. Ryland, 1990. Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Lindley, J.A., 1987. Continuous Plankton Records: The geographical distribution and seasonal cycles of decapod crustacean larvae and pelagic postlarvae in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., 67: 145-167.

Williamson, D.I., 1983. Crustacea. Decapoda: larvae. VIII. Nephropidae, Palinuridea and Eryonidea. Fiches d'Identification du Zooplancton, 167-168 (1983). Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer, Kopenhagen.

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