Lebbeus groenlandicus (Fabricius, 1775)
A common benthic shrimp of the circum-Arctic and extreme northern Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Size
- Male total length 58 mm
- Female total length 107 mm
- Maximum sizes may vary between populations in different habitats
Color & Characteristics
- Highly variable, mottled with brownish red to dull brownish green; may be camouflaged in life
- Note the very large dorsal teeth on the carapace, the single large supraorbital tooth and the sharp ventral margins of the abdominal pleura
- Considerable within-species polymorphism has been reported in the number of spines or teeth on abdominal somites, meri of posterior pereopods and telson spines; also relative length of antennal scale compared to the telson.
Habitat & Distribution
- Mud, shells, sand or gravel
- Llow intertidal zone to 518 m
Feeding
- Scavenger, predator on smaller annelids, crustaceans and mollusks
- Reported to be eaten by Atlantic cod and bearded seal
Life cycle
- Egg-bearring females noted in August, November-February; suggesting a biennial spawner
- At least two zoeal stages and megalopa stage reported
More Biology and Ecology
- Can be parasitized by isopod, Hemiarthus abdominalis in Pacific
Page Author: Mary Wicksten
Created: August 10, 2010
