Themisto gaudichaudii
5419593
194890933
2008-02-29T13:52:54Z
Eubot
231599
Removed taxobox colour. See [[User:Eubot/Removing colours from taxoboxen]].
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Themisto gaudichaudii''
| image = Themistog.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| subphylum = [[Crustacean|Crustacea]]
| classis = [[Malacostraca]]
| ordo = [[Amphipoda]]
| familia = [[Hyperiidae]]
| genus = ''[[Themisto]]''
| species = '''''T. gaudichaudii'''''
| binomial = ''Themisto gaudichaudii''
| binomial_authority = [[Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville|Guérin-Méneville]], 1825
}}
'''''Themisto gaudichaudii''''' is an [[amphipod]] of the [[suborder]] [[Hyperiidea]]. The 260 [[species]] of hyperiid amphipods are large-eyed and [[plankton]]ic amphipods, whereas gammarid amphipods have smaller eyes and tend to live on the sea floor.
The handful of species of the genus ''Themisto'' are the most abundant of all amphipods. Unlike other hyperiids, which [[parasite|parasitise]] gelatinous animals such as [[salp]]s and [[jellyfish]], ''Themisto'' swims free in the plankton, and is much sleeker and more streamlined than other amphipods. ''Themisto'' often form dense [[swarm]]s, similar to [[krill]] swarms.
''Themisto'' is a voracious predator of anything smaller than itself, and occasionally of animals its own size or larger. In most places the most abundant members of the [[plankton]] community are [[copepod]]s, which make up the bulk of the diet of ''Themisto'', but ''Themisto'' also eats fish [[larva]]e, [[chaetognath]]s, [[pteropod]]s, juvenile [[krill]] and anything else it comes across. The long [[arthropod leg|limbs]] are folded against the body for swimming, and extend to catch prey in a similar way to the [[praying mantis]].
''Themisto gaudichaudii'' is the [[Southern Ocean]] species of the genus, ranging through the [[Antarctic]] region and further north onto [[Southern Hemisphere]] [[continental shelves]]. In many places, ''Themisto gaudichaudii'' is the most abundant predator in the plankton, and is often the third most abundant member of the plankton community, after copepods and krill. Adults in the [[Antarctic]] are normally 12-21 [[millimetre|mm]] long, and normally live for a year, although a few may survive to their second year and reach 28 mm long. Adults off [[Southern Africa]] are smaller, reaching 12 mm.
''Themisto gaudichaudii'' is an important prey item for predators such as the [[Macaroni Penguin]] and [[icefish]], as well as many species of [[seabird]]s, notably [[diving petrel]]s.
[[Category:Amphipods]]