General Description

Stalked eyes, carapace covering the head and most of the thorax. Abdomen long, ending in a tail fan bearing pair of statocysts. Lateral edge of telson armed with spines. Up to 1.5 cm long.

Biology

Opossum shrimps are so-called because they carry their eggs and young in a marsupium-like pouch. Mysids can form large shoals in shallow waters, thus are an abundant food source for both adult and juvenile coastal fish.

Habitat

Shallow water and seagrass beds, to depths of 82 m.

Seagrass meadows

Coastal shores

Distribution guide

East Indian Ocean, Indo-Pacific, South Indian Ocean, South Pacific, West Central Pacific, southern temperate oceans including south-eastern Australia.

Species Group

Prawns, shrimps, lobsters › Mysids

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)
Deep ( > 30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor Midwater

Max Size

15 mm

Diet

Plankton or Particles

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Recorded in Australia

Species Code

MoV 1012

Conservation Status

• DSE Advisory List : Not listed
• EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
• IUCN Red List : Not listed