Pontoporeia femorata
| Pontoporeia femorata | |
|---|---|
| Pontoporeia femorata (top). Former Pontoporeia affinis (bottom) is now Monoporeia affinis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Amphipoda |
| Family: | Pontoporeiidae |
| Genus: | Pontoporeia Krøyer, 1842 |
| Species: | P. femorata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pontoporeia femorata Krøyer, 1842
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Pontoporeia is a monotypic genus of amphipods in the family Pontoporeiidae. The sole species is Pontoporeia femorata. Other species formerly assigned to this genus are now classified under Monoporeia and Diporeia.[1] However, as currently delimited, Pontoporeia femorata might be a species complex.[2]
Distribution and habitat
Pontoporeia has a circumpolar and subartic distribution, including parts of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is also present in the Baltic Sea. It is a marine species that burrows in muddy and sandy-mud bottoms from the subtidal zone down to depths of 50 m (160 ft), sometimes more.[2] In the Baltic proper, Pontoporeia femorata is a dominant species among soft-bottom benthic epifauna,[3] mostly occurring where salinity exceeds 6 ‰.[4]
Pontoporeia femorata is a deposit feeder that lives in the upper few centimeters of the sediment during the day but may swim above the seafloor during the night, especially during the mating season.[4]
Life cycle and reproduction
Pontoporeia femorata has a 2- or 3-year life cycle in the Baltic.[5] Males die after mating and females after releasing their brood.[4]
References
- ^ a b Lowry J, ed. (2025). "Pontoporeia Krøyer, 1842". World Amphipoda Database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ^ a b d'Udekem d'Acoz, Cédric (2006). "Systematic, phylogenetic and biological considerations on the genera Bathyporeia, Amphiporeia, Pontoporeia and Priscillina, with redescription of the West-Atlantic Bathyporeia species and description of a new Priscillina from Svalbard (Crustacea, Amphipoda)". Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique. Biologie. 76: 33–110 [76–77].
- ^ Laine, Ari O. (2003). "Distribution of soft-bottom macrofauna in the deep open Baltic Sea in relation to environmental variability". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 57 (1–2): 87–97. doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00333-5.
- ^ a b c Hill, Catherine; Elmgren, Ragnar (1987). "Vertical distribution in the sediment in the co-Occurring benthic amphipods Pontoporeia affinis and P. femorata". Oikos. 49 (2): 221. doi:10.2307/3566029.
- ^ Wiklund, Ann-Kristin Eriksson; Sundelin, Brita (2001). "Impaired reproduction in the amphipods Monoporeia affinis and Pontoporeia femorata as a result of moderate hypoxia and increased temperature". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 222: 131–141. doi:10.3354/meps222131.