Sars, 1865
Description
Female body in rather short and thick, with the tail scarcely as long as the anterior division. Carapace about the length of the exposed part of the trunk, dorsal crest only confined to the anterior half; pseudorostral projection rather small, horizontal, and terminating in a sharp point, below which the edges for some distance are finely denticulate and setiferous; anterolateral corners distinctly produced, and defined above by an angular cleft.
Adult male much more slender than the female, with the carapace quite smooth above, pseudorostral projection considerably shorter, antero-lateral corners blunted. First pair of legs with the penultimate and antepenultimate joints of about equal size, the latter with only a few very short setae outside; second pair with the last joint scarcely longer than the antepenultimate one, and carrying about eight unequal spines. Third pair of legs in male with three lanceolate appendages of the ischial joint, similar to those in the male of Leucon pallidus, but comparatively smaller.
Uropods with the inner ramus about the length of the basal part, but shorter than the outer, its distal joint much smaller than the proximal, and linear in form, with from six to eight spines, the apical one rather elongated; outer ramus with about eight ciliated setae.
This species is easily recognised, in the female sex at least, by the comparatively small, acutely produced pseudorostral projection, and the limited extent of the dorsal crest of the carapace.
Size
Length of adult female scarcely exceeding 3 mm, of male 3.5 mm.
Colour
Whitish, with a faint olivaceous tinge.
Ecology
Shelf to bathyal.
Depth range
Down from 50 to 120 m.
Distribution in the North Sea
Northern North Sea, Skagerrak.
World distribution
North Atlantic, Arctic.
[After Sars, 1900]