Boas, 1883
The Mysidacea are characterized morphologically as follows:
Female:typic. mysid, lateral v.,female,
Male:typic. mysid, lateral view,male,
Dorsal view: typical mysid, dorsal view
Dorsal view, detail:detail typi. mysid, dorsal view
The carapace covers almost all of the cephalon and the thoracic somites. The carapace is shield-like, fused dorsally with the head region and not more than four anterior thoracic somites.
The eyes are usually stalked and movable, the cornea generally developed with visual elements (detail typi. mysid, dorsal view). The head (cephalon) bears five pairs of appendages; antennule, antenna (antenna), mandible (mandible with 3-segm. palp), maxillule (maxillule) and maxilla (maxilla).
The thorax has 8 pairs of pereopods, all of which are divided into two branches, endopod and exopod (first pereopod). Endopods of the first and second pereopods are usually transformed into gnathopods, which differ considerably from the remaining limbs. All exopods are natatory. Females bear a marsupium composed of less than seven pairs of lamellae, in which the embryos grow.
The abdomen consists of six somites, generally of the same form, although the last somite is longer than the others (cross section of abdomen). Each abdominal somite, except for the last, is provided with a pair of pleopods. Pleopods have a flagelliform exopod and endopod, frequently reduced in the female (typical female pereopod) and sometimes in the male, often sexually modified in the male (typical male pereopod). The posterior extremity of the body is a tail fan formed by the telson (telson) and a pair of uropods (uropods). A statocyst is usually present in the endopod of the uropods (uropods).
Number of species
Table 2 (table 2) shows the number of new species erected each decade during the 20th century (species described before 1901 are lumped). As the table shows, more than half of the known species were described during the last 50 years, and there still is a steady tendency for the number of species to increase.
Species in this chapter (except Neomysis americana):
table 3a
table 3b
table 3c
Suprageneric taxa
The classification system given below may be revised as new species are added in future.
Underlined taxa are those treated in detail in the present chapter.
Order Mysidacea Boas, 1883
Suborder Lophogastrida Boas, 1883
Family Lophogastridae Sars, 1870
Family Gnathophausiidae Bacescu, 1984
Family Eucopiidae Sars, 1870
Suborder Mysida Boas, 1883
Family Petalophthalmidae Czerniavsky, 1882
Family Mysidae Dana, 1850
Subfamily Boreomysinae Holt and Tattersall, 1905
Subfamily Siriellinae Norman, 1892
Tribe Siriellini Murano, 1986
Tribe Metasiriellini Murano, 1986
Subfamily Rhopalophthalminae Hansen, 1910
Subfamily Gastrosaccinae Norman, 1892
Subfamily Mysinae Hansen, 1910
Tribe Aberomysini Bacescu, 1986
Tribe Erythropini Hansen, 1910
Tribe Leptomysini Hansen, 1910
Tribe Mancomysini Bacescu, 1986
Tribe Mysini Hansen, 1910
Tribe Heteromysini Hansen, 1910
Subfamily Mysidellinae Hansen, 1910
Family Lepidomysidae Clarke, 1961
Family Stygiomysidae Caroli, 1937