Sand Digger Shrimp

Bathyporeia elegans Watkin 1938

Bathyporeia elegans (Sand Digger Shrimp) is a species of Amphipoda in the family Bathyporeiidae. They are surficial modifiers. Individuals can grow to 5 cm. They rely on drag powered swimming to move around.

URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/surficialModifier
Definition: bioturbating fauna with activities restricted to the sediment layer immediately below the sediment surface
Attribution: S. Lindqvist, Engelbrektsson, Eriksson, Hulth. 2016. Functional classification of bioturbating macrofauna in marine sediments using time-resolved imaging of particle displacement and multivariate analysis. Biogeosciences Discuss, 13 Oct. 2016. doi:10.5194/bg-2016-411.

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URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/drag_based_swimming
Definition: Drag swimmers use a cyclic motion where they push water back in a power stroke, and return their limb forward in the return or recovery stroke. When they push water directly backwards, this moves their body forward, but as they return their limbs to the starting position, they push water forward, which will thus pull them back to some degree, and so opposes the direction that the body is heading. This opposing force is called drag. The return-stroke drag causes drag swimmers to employ different strategies than lift swimmers. Reducing drag on the return stroke is essential for optimizing efficiency.

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EOL has data for 24 attributes, including:

Body symmetry
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/body_symmetry
- Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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body length
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/CMO_0000013
- Definition: A measurement of the longest dimension of a body, typically between two distinct ends of the body.
- Attribution: [database_cross_reference: Dorland:Dorlands_Illustrated_Medical_Dictionary--31st_Ed] [database_cross_reference: ISBN:978-1416049982]
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5 mm
cellularity
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001992
- Definition: An organismal quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearers consisting cells. [ PATOC:GVG ]
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multicellular
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001993
- Definition: A cellularity quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearers consisting of more than one cell. [ PATOC:GVG ]
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ecosystem engineering
- URI: http://polytraits.lifewatchgreece.eu/terms/RW
- Definition: directly or indirectly modulating the availability of resources to other species, by causing physical state changes in biotic or abiotic materials; modifying, maintaining and/or creating habitats
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surficial modifier
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/surficialModifier
- Definition: bioturbating fauna with activities restricted to the sediment layer immediately below the sediment surface
- Attribution: S. Lindqvist, Engelbrektsson, Eriksson, Hulth. 2016. Functional classification of bioturbating macrofauna in marine sediments using time-resolved imaging of particle displacement and multivariate analysis. Biogeosciences Discuss, 13 Oct. 2016. doi:10.5194/bg-2016-411.
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geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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Spain
- URI: http://www.geonames.org/2510769
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habitat
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/RO_0002303
- Definition: x has habitat y if: x is an organism, y is a habitat, and y can sustain and allow the growth of a population of x
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mud
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_01000001
- Definition: A liquid or semi-liquid mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay.
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habitat
- URI: http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/habitat
- Definition: A category or description of the habitat in which the Event occurred.
- Comment: Example: "oak savanna", "pre-cordilleran steppe"
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marine benthic
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_01000024
- Definition: The marine benthic biome (benthic meaning 'bottom') encompasses the seafloor and includes such areas as shores, littoral or intertidal areas, marine coral reefs, and the deep seabed.
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locomotion
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0040011
- Definition: Self-propelled movement of a cell or organism from one location to another.
- Attribution: [database_cross_reference: GOC:dgh]
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drag powered swimming
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/drag_based_swimming
- Definition: Drag swimmers use a cyclic motion where they push water back in a power stroke, and return their limb forward in the return or recovery stroke. When they push water directly backwards, this moves their body forward, but as they return their limbs to the starting position, they push water forward, which will thus pull them back to some degree, and so opposes the direction that the body is heading. This opposing force is called drag. The return-stroke drag causes drag swimmers to employ different strategies than lift swimmers. Reducing drag on the return stroke is essential for optimizing efficiency.
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motility
- URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q33596
- Definition: ability to move spontaneously and actively, consuming energy in the process
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burrower
- URI: http://polytraits.lifewatchgreece.eu/terms/MOB_BUR
- Definition: An organism that lives or moves in a burrow in soft sediments.
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supporting structures and enclosures
- URI: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/SupportingStructuresEnclosures
- Definition: Hard framework, internal or external, which supports and protects softer parts of plant, animal or unicellular organism, and to which muscles usually attach in animals, includes skeletons (derived from Lawrence, 2005).
- Attribution: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/wiki/Traits:SupportingStructuresEnclosures Lawrence, E. (ed.) (2005) Henderson's dictionary of Biology (13th edition). London, United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited.
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exoskeleton
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0006611
- Definition: Exoskeleton or shell, including those of mollusks, turtles, insects and crustaceans
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type specimen repository
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/TypeSpecimenRepository
- Definition: The institution that holds a type specimen for a given species. The recommended best practice is to use the identifier in a collections registry such as the Biodiversity Collections Index (http://www.biodiversitycollectionsindex.org/).
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NHMUK
water depth
- URI: http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/verbatimDepth
- Definition: The depth of seawater at a location where this organism has been observed or collected.
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150 m

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of sand digger shrimp. View this species on GBIF