Pycnogonida |
Pantopoda |
Nymphonidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; depth range 1400 - 1415 m (Ref. 9). Temperate
Southwest Pacific: New Zealand.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 4.6 cm LS male/unsexed; (Ref. 9)
Proximately 5 to 6 cm in height. Trunk fully segmented, slender; lateral processes separated by more than their diameters; glabrous. Neck medium length; oviger implants well anterior to first lateral processes. Ocular tubercle placed just posterior to implants and at anterior of first lateral processes; low, rounded, eyes large, without pigment. Abdomen small, erect, glabrous; not extending beyond posterior lateral processes. Chelifore scapes long, slender; with few short lateral and distal setae. Chelae palm short, rectangular; with few distal setae. Fingers slender, longer than palm; overlapping distally; with 14 sharp slender endal teeth and four ectal setae on immovable finger; 16 similar teeth and no setae on movable finger. Palps moderately short; second segment longest; combined length of fourth and fifth segments subequal to length of third; second and third with few short lateral setae; fourth and fifth with more ventral setae, some longer than segment diameters. Ovigers moderately short; fourth segment subequal in length to fifth; fourth with low conical bulge just proximal to mid-length. Strigilis segments each increasingly shorter than last; denticulate spines arranged in single row with the count of 9: 6: 5: 7: with terminal claw almost as long as distal segment, claw armed with 10 slender sharp teeth. Denticulate spines with three or four lateral teeth. Legs long, slender, with few longer dorsal setae and more short ventral setae. Second tibia the longest major segment. Tarsus short, only about 0.3 as long as almost straight propodus; armed with few short and one longer sole spines. Propodus armed with three large heel spines, seven short distal sole spines, and several dorsodistal short setae. Claw long, about 0.7 as long as propodus; auxiliary claws quite short, little longer than greatest diameter of main claw. Male characters unknown.
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. 1998 The marine fauna of New Zealand: Pycnogonida (sea spiders). NIWA Biodiversity Memoire 109. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). Washington, D.C. 20530, USA. 71 p. + Figure 2A-G, 3A-F, 4, 5. (Ref. 9)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
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
Fishing Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category
Unknown.
