PORT PHILLIP BAY


Comma Shrimp 

Pomacuma australiae (Zimmer, 1921)

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Females: Carapace witth pseudorostral lobes extending in front of moderately large ocular lobe and meeting in midline; antennal notch closed but not fused. Five pereonites exposed; first pereonite short. Pleon longer than carapace and pereon combined; telsonic somite well produced posteriorly with distal margin rounded. Third maxilliped with well-developed exopods. First 3 pereopods with well developed exopods; pereopod 4 with rudimentary 1-segmented exopod bearing few setae. Basis of pereopod 1 widened distally with large lobe on distal end; lobe produced to articulation of ischium and merus. Carpus of pereopod 2 much shorter than merus. Endopod of uropod 2-segemented, distal segment very short; medial margin of exopod with plumose setae.

Males: Second antennae reaching to end of pleon. Five pairs of pleopods.

Source: Tafe, D.J. & Greenwood, J.G. (1996) The Bodotriidae (Crustacea: Cumacea) of Moreton Bay, Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 39, 391-482.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Subclass:
Eumalacostraca
Superorder:
Peracarida
Order:
Cumacea
Family:
Bodotriidae
Genus:
Pomacuma
Species:
australiae

General Description

First antenna not strongly geniculAte, joints not at all globose. Basis of pereopod 1 with distal lobe. Pleon not ridged. Telson fused to pleonite 6, tesonic somite well produced posteriorly.

Biology

Cumaceans burrow into the surface of sandy and muddy sediments but can also be found in the sediment trapped among macroalgae. At night especially cumaceans can be active swimmers in the open water and this is probably where mating occurs. Food is obtained by filtering water just above the sediment and grazing on the surface of sand grains. Cumaceans can be dug out of sandy sediment but the most effective way of catching them is by attracting them to lights at night.

Habitat

Mud, fine silt, clay and sand, to depths of 75 m..

Soft substrates

Distribution guide

Southern temperate oceans, including Australia and New Zealand.

Species Group

Microcrustaceans › Cumaceans

Depth

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

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

9 mm

Diet

Organic matter

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Recorded in Australia

Species Code

MoV 42

Conservation Status

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

Author

article author Taylor, J.

Dr. Jo Taylor is the Sciences Collections Online Coordinator at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Poore, G.C.B.

Dr. Gary Poore is Principal Curator Emeritus at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Taylor, J. & Poore, G.C.B., 2011, Comma Shrimp, Pomacuma australiae, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 13 Jan 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/5282

Text: creative commons cc by licence