Pycnogonida |
Pantopoda |
Ammotheidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic. Tropical
Western Central Pacific: Philippines.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Small. Leg span: less than 10 mm. Trunk: completely segmented; compact, robust, lateral processes close to each other; short, armed dorsodistally with two or three low, slender tubercles, bifurcate at tips. Cephalic segment: broad, flaring laterally at anterior, margins without tubercle or setae. Ocular tubercle: situated at anterior of segment, only taller than maximum diameter, with two apical low conical tubercles. Eyes: large well pigmented. Abdomen: long, bent posteriorly, with dorsodistal field of two feathered spines, one clubbed hollow spine, and four short lateral setae. Proboscis: massive, a very inflated oval, compressed at lips. Chelifores of three segments, scape second segment slightly longer than first, armed with three tubular clubbed spines and five long feathered spines on distal segment, and one long feathered spine on proximal segment. Chelae fingers: complete, well curved, toothless, with single long feathered spine. Palps: 9 segments. Ovigers: small U-shaped unsegmented tubercles in juvenile. Legs: with long feathered spines; 4 on first coxae, two on second, none on third, six dorsodistally on femur, seven dorsally and laterally on first tibiae, two dorsally on second tibiae, and five dorsally on propodi, with long tubular clubbed spines singly or in pairs dorsally on the major leg segments. Second tibia the longest segment with first tibia and femur increasingly shorter. Cement gland undeveloped. Propodus with 3 large heel spines and several shorter sole spines. Claw less than half propodal length with auxiliaries about 0.7 main claw length (Ref. 6).
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.
Child, C.A. 1988 Pycnogonida of the Western Pacific Islands, III: Recent Smithsonian-Philippine Expeditions. Smithsonian Contribution to Zoology No. 468. Smithsonian Instition Press. Washington, DC. 32 p. + Figure 1 -3. (Ref. 6)
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
Price category
Unknown.
