Any clue??? Should I be worried?
- Thread starter Amandajb
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Life is so cool.
Angelwolf21203
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Hmm.... I don't know what they are. And you said they are about the size of a grain of rice? I still think mantis shrimp babies, because I know the adults will burrow into the sand in the ocean. They're definitely not copepods, because they made the tunnel. Very cool, either way!
I agree with 35ppt I do not think it is a mantis shrimp, the eye seems be attached instead of on a stalk like mantis shrimp. Arthropods are not my specialty but it may be closely related to amphipods, I was thinking possibly of the order Tanaidacea?
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I lean towards gammarid amphipod...
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Lol beat me to it...
Okay so after searching around and looking over the videos again I'm positive it's an amphipod likely from the suborder Gammaridea but as said above Tanaidacea could be an option as well. I'm more leaning toward Gammaridea though. I was mistaken in what I was seeing in the video regarding the similar look of the pleopods to shrimp. It's possible that you've got Elasmopus thomasi "E" pictured below but it looks like it lacks the grey back and white blotch. But Melita planaterga "H" also looks similar with it's grey back. I wish I could get photos of the top so I can see that white blotch yours have.
I suppose, bottom line is most amphipods are detritivores and scavengers and the ones that are predatory go after small crustaceans.
From Wikipedia: Most amphipods are detritivores or scavengers,[4] with some being grazers of algae, omnivores or predators[6] of small insects and crustaceans.
Amphipoda - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
What really threw me off is how thin the body (thorax/abdomen in amphipods or do they have a different name for it?) Is compared to Gammaridea. I think you are more correct than me though, the body size was the only reason I picked Tanaidacea.
