Euchaetidae

Euchaetidae
	Euchaeta marina
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Copepoda
Order:	Calanoida
Family:	Euchaetidae; Giesbrecht, 1893
Genera
	Euchaeta Philippi, 1843 ; Paraeuchaeta Scott, 1909 ;

Euchaetidae is a family of marine copepods.^[1] The family is cosmopolitan and occurs in all the oceans, including the Southern and Arctic Oceans.^[2]^[3] Euchaetidae are medium to large-sized copepods.^[4]

Genera

There are two genera with in total 114 species:^[1]

Euchaeta Philippi, 1843 – 16 species
Paraeuchaeta Scott, 1909 – 98 species

Ecology

Euchaeta are mostly epipelagic whereas Paraeuchaeta are mostly bathypelagic.^[2] Where more than one species occurs, congeneric species (or life stages of a single species, as observed for Paraeuchaeta antarctica) may partition the water column, whereas species representing different genera that occur at similar depths differ in dietary preferences.^[3]

Paraeuchaeta can be important predators of fish larvae. Their mode of predation is "drift and wait". The dominant euchaetid in the Southern Ocean is Paraeuchaeta antarctica. It is a dominant predator there, and its fatty acid profile suggests that it mostly preys upon herbivorous calanid copepods. In the Weddell Sea, it contributes as much as 11–18% to total mesozooplankton biomass.^[3]

Life cycle

Paraeuchaeta antarctica has a one-year life-cycle around the Kerguelen Islands.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Walter TC, Boxshall G, eds. (2021). "Euchaetidae Giesbrecht, 1893". World of Copepods database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b Park, Taisoo (1993). "Taxonomy and distribution of the marine calanoid copepod family Euchaetidae". Bulletin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 29: 1–203.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Laakmann, Silke; Stumpp, Meike & Auel, Holger (2009). "Vertical distribution and dietary preferences of deep-sea copepods (Euchaetidae and Aetideidae; Calanoida) in the vicinity of the Antarctic Polar Front". Polar Biology. 32 (5): 679–689. doi:10.1007/s00300-008-0573-2.
^ Ward, Peter & Wood, Andrew G. (1988). "The distribution of the Euchaetidae (Copepoda: Calanoida) around South Georgia". Polar Biology. 9 (1): 45–52. doi:10.1007/BF00441763.

[WoRMS-1] Walter TC, Boxshall G, eds. (2021). "Euchaetidae Giesbrecht, 1893". World of Copepods database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

[Park_1993-2] Park, Taisoo (1993). "Taxonomy and distribution of the marine calanoid copepod family Euchaetidae". Bulletin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 29: 1–203.

[Laakmann_et_al._2009-3] Laakmann, Silke; Stumpp, Meike & Auel, Holger (2009). "Vertical distribution and dietary preferences of deep-sea copepods (Euchaetidae and Aetideidae; Calanoida) in the vicinity of the Antarctic Polar Front". Polar Biology. 32 (5): 679–689. doi:10.1007/s00300-008-0573-2.

[Ward_and_Wood_1988-4] Ward, Peter & Wood, Andrew G. (1988). "The distribution of the Euchaetidae (Copepoda: Calanoida) around South Georgia". Polar Biology. 9 (1): 45–52. doi:10.1007/BF00441763.

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