Pycnogonida |
Pantopoda |
Phoxichilidiidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic. Tropical
Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Brazil, Colombia and USA.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Trunk long, tenuous; first and second segmentation sutures complete, that between third and fourth segments present, indistinct, or absent. Lateral processes short, with dorsodistal setose tubercles decreasing in height on posterior pairs. Ocular tubercle conical, direct:d obliquely anteriad; eyes well pigmented, at midpoint of ocular cone. Female proboscis with pair of midventral outgrowths or alar processes. Abdomen slightly taller than ocular tubercle, with several short setae. Chelifore scapes with anterior setose tubercles; chelae setose, without teeth on fingers. Oviger terminal segments very setose. Legs with long tubercles ventrodistally on second coxae, dorsodistally on femorae and first tibiae; single cement gland orifice a long slit; propodi with distal tubercle, a marked heel with 3 spines, and no lamina; auxiliary claws lacking (Ref. 2115, p. 48-49).
Coastal to shelf (Ref. 19); from intertidal estuaries to depths of at least 90 m (Ref. 2115, page 49). Epibiotic (Ref. 116112).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Pycnogonida are gonochoric and sexually dimorphic. During copulation, male usually suspends itself beneath the female. Fertilization occurs as the eggs leave the female's ovigers. Males brood the egg masses until they hatch. Life cycle: Eggs hatch into protonymphon larva then to adults.
Arango, C.P. 2002 Morphological phylogenetics of the sea spiders (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida). Organisms Diversity and Evolution 2(2):119-126. (Ref. 1951)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 23.5 - 28, mean 26.8 (based on 291 cells).
Price category
Unknown.
