Themisto libellula is a marine amphipod of the family Hyperiidae. The species lives for 2 to 3 years, and grows up to 60 millimetres (2.4 in) over its lifetime.[2][3] They are found in large quantities in Arctic water.[4]
Themisto libellula | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Amphipoda |
Suborder: | Hyperiidea |
Family: | Hyperiidae |
Genus: | Themisto |
Species: | T. libellula |
Binomial name | |
Themisto libellula (Lichtenstein in Mandt, 1822) | |
Synonyms[1] | |
Euthemisto libellula |
In the summer, they eat more lipids to store as fuel for the winter.[3] During the mid-winter, they eat copepods, such as Calanus finmarchicus.[5] T. libellula is eaten by cod, polar cod, and mammals at the ice edge.[4] In the early 2000s, the population of the species began to decrease; these effects rippled through the food chain.[4] The levels later rose in cool years, and T. libellula have moved south of the Arctic Circle.[3] They have been observed in "mass mortalities", where millions of T. libellula wash up dead on the coast.[6][7]
References
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