Abstract

Numerous individuals of an amphipod previously unreported from the Black Sea were found in 2017 on structures of a mussel and oyster marine farm, near the outer roadstead of the Sevastopol Bay, Crimea. The species discovered was morphologically especially similar to Stenothoe tergestina (Nebeski 1881), provisionally identified as Stenothoe cf. tergestina. The morphology, population structure and ecology of this species were studied. An analysis of the population structure of S. cf. tergestina in 2017–2022 showed that adult females, males and juveniles were present in the samples all over the year. The animals preferred to dwell on surfaces overgrown with periphyton colonies of the hydroid polyp genus Aglaophenia Lamouroux 1812. In the collections of amphipods from the periphyton of the farm structures, S. cf. tergestina turned out to be the most abundant (70–90% of the total number of identified amphipod individuals). The length of adult females was up to 4.5 mm, vs up to 3.6 mm in males.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call