Corophium volutator explained

Corophium volutator is a species of amphipod crustacean in the family Corophiidae.^[1] It is found in mudflats of the northern Atlantic Ocean.^[2] It is native to the north-east Atlantic Ocean, and has been introduced to the north-west Atlantic.^[3]

Description

Corophium volutator is a slender animal, up to long, "whitish with brown markings".^[4] The head bear two pairs of antennae, the first of which are small and point forwards, while the distinctive second pair are much longer and thicker.^[4]

Life cycle

There are 1–2 generations per year,^[5] and the females brood the eggs inside their brood pouch or marsupium. They can occur in huge quantities: up to 60,000 per square metre have been observed.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: Macrobenthos of the North Sea . M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo . 1999 . 2006-06-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717025550/http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=303 . 2011-07-17 . dead .
2. Veronika Gerdol & R. G. Hughes . 1994 . Feeding behaviour and diet of Corophium volutator in an estuary in southeastern England . . 114 . 103–108 . 10.3354/meps114103. free . 1994MEPS..114..103G .
3. Anthropocene invasion of an ecosystem engineer: resolving the history of Corophium volutator (Amphipoda: Corophiidae) in the North Atlantic . Biological Journal of the Linnean Society . 115 . 2 . 288–304 . A. L. Einfeldt & J. A. Addison . 2015 . 10.1111/bij.12507. free .
4. Web site: Ken Neal & Penny Avant . 2006 . Corophium volutator, a mud shrimp . Marine Life Information Network

   Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme

   . . April 12, 2012 .
5. W. Herbert Wilson, Jr. & Kristian Parker . 1996 . The life history of the amphipod, Corophium volutator: the effects of temperature and shorebird predation . . 196 . 1–2 . 239–250 . 10.1016/0022-0981(95)00133-6. 1996JEMBE.196..239W .
6. Web site: Master of the Mudflats . 1999 . J. A. Percy . Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership.