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Family LUCIFERIDAE De Haan, 1849


Compiler and date details

May 2012 - Peter Davie, Queensland Museum, Brisbane

Introduction

These tiny prawns appear in plankton, sometimes in large numbers, from shallow water to the surface waters of all temperate and tropical oceans. Their elongate shape, long neck, and dominant eyes make them immediately recognisable.

Because they lack so many basic dendrobranchiate features, like gills, their relationships to other families and even their inclusion in Dendrobranchiata itself have been questioned (Pérez Farfante & Kensley 1997). The presence of a petasma in males is the only feature uniting luciferids with dendrobranchiates but euphausiaceans possess this feature too. Loss of pereopods 4 and 5 is shared with some sergestids but is a dubious synapomorphy. Another unusual feature of luciferids is that females brood their eggs on pereopod 3; all other dendrobranchiates are broadcast spawners. The major taxonomic study of Hansen (1919) remained unchallenged until a significant revision by Vereshchaka et al. (2016).

 

Diagnosis

Body strongly laterally compressed; integument soft, stiff but not rigid. Rostrum absent. Postorbital spine absent. Without branchiae.

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
13-Mar-2025 CRUSTACEA Brünnich, 1772 21-Jan-2025 MODIFIED Dr Gary Poore
05-Dec-2019 DECAPODA Latreille, 1802 31-Jul-2018 MODIFIED Dr Shane Ahyong
10-May-2012 10-May-2012 MODIFIED
12-Feb-2010 (import)