Sand fleas

Code OP059999

The body is slightly flattened dorsoventrally, the urosome markedly so. There is no accessory flagellum on the antennules (i.e., the antennules are uniramous). The third uropod is small and partly hidden by a rounded, entire (not cleft), fleshy telson. Corophiidae build portable tubes from sand and detritus.

One species, Paracorophium excavatum , length 3mm, is known from the Brisbane River. This species occurs also in New Zealand. Chapman and Lewis (1976) comment that all its known sites are from brackish waters. A second species occurs in freshwater in New Zealand.

References:

Bradbury, J. H., and W. D. Williams. (1999) Key to and checklist of the inland aquatic amphipods of Australia . Technical reports of the Australian Museum, number 14.

Chapman, A., and M. Lewis (1976). An Introduction to the Freshwater Crustacea of New Zealand . Collins, Auckland.

Horwitz, P., Knott, B. and Williams, W.D. (1995) A Preliminary Key to the Malacostracan Families (Crustacea) found in Australian Inland Waters . Co-operative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology Identification Guide No. 4., Albury, NSW.

Williams, W. D. (1980) Australian Freshwater Life . Macmillan.