Bate, 1888
Adult members of the decapod Suborder Dendrobranchiata are crustaceans with a laterally compressed or cylindrical carapce. This group includes the penaeid and sergestid shrimps. The abdomen is somewhat laterally compressed. The abdominal tergites are ventro-laterally expanded into plaeural lobes. In contrast to the shrimps of the Infraorder Caridea, in the dendrobranchiate shrimps the pleural lobe of the second abdominal segment is not overlapping both the first and third segment.
The first three pereiopods are chelate, sometimes without exopods. None of the chelipeds is greatly enlarged.
The pleopods are biramous, usually with a petasma in the males (copulatory modification on first pleopod). The uropods are biramous.
The telson forms a tailfan together with the broad uropods.
Larval development is metamorphic and includes nauplius, protozoea, zoea and megalopa. See also Crustacean larval stages and Crustacealarvae. The number of larval stages varies very much in the families of Dendrobranchiata. Females do not brood the eggs; the released eggs are fertilised and the embryos hatch as [l][m]Glossary[/m][r]nauplius[/r]nauplius.
The nauplii of the Superorder Eucarida (comprising the Euphausiacea and Decapoda) are distinguished from nauplii of other crustacean superorders by the lack of masticatory spines at the bases of the antenna or the mandible. It is not possible to separate systematically the naupliar stages from Euphausiacea, Penaeoidea and Sergestoidea. Identification of zoeal stages may be done with Dos Santos and Lindley, 2001. Example of zoea of Sergestes atlanticus (not in the area): S.atlanticus-zoea.
Ecology
Dendrobranchiates are marine, brackish or freshwater animals; often benthic.
Distribution in the North Sea
Only two species may occur in the area, both belonging to the Superfamily Sergestoidea: Sergestes arcticus and Sergia robusta. Members of the other dendrobranchiate Superfamily Penaeoidea are unknown from the North Sea.
[Description after McLaughlin, 1980; Brusca and Brusca, 1990]