Upogebia capensis
Encyclopedia
Upogebia capensis, or Cape mud shrimp, is a mud shrimp
of the family
Upogebiidae
, endemic
to South Africa
from Luderitz
to Mossel Bay
, in mud under stones on the open coast, but never in estuaries.
Upogebia capensis lives in a permanent burrow under stones. It is similar to Upogebia africana
, but the walking legs of capensis do not have spines at their bases.
Mud shrimp
The term mud shrimp is used for a number of different mud-dwelling crustaceans:*Infraorder Thalassinidea, including genera such as Callianassa, Pestarella and Upogebia*Corophium volutator, an amphipod of the North Atlantic...
of the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Upogebiidae
Upogebiidae
Upogebiidae is a family of mud shrimp in the order Decapoda.-Genera:*Acutigebia Sakai, 1982*Aethogebia A. B. Williams, 1993*Arabigebicula Sakai, 2006*Austinogebia Ngoc-Ho, 2001*Gebiacantha Ngoc-Ho, 1989*Gebicula Alcock, 1901...
, endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
from Luderitz
Lüderitz
Lüderitz is a harbour town in south-west Namibia, lying on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island.- Overview :...
to Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 130,000 people on the Southern Cape of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province...
, in mud under stones on the open coast, but never in estuaries.
Upogebia capensis lives in a permanent burrow under stones. It is similar to Upogebia africana
Upogebia africana
Upogebia africana is a mud shrimp of the family Upogebiidae, endemic to South Africa.-References:* G M Branch, C L Griffiths, M L Branch, & L E Beckley, Two Oceans, A Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa, David Philip Publishers Ltd, Claremont, South Africa 1994 ISBN 0-86486-250-4...
, but the walking legs of capensis do not have spines at their bases.