Parastenocaris brevipes
Parastenocaris brevipes is recorded from a locality east of Oslo. Two specimens were found in Sphagnum mosses close to the waterfront.
Key characteristics
Parastenocaris brevipes is a small, vermiform harpacoide. Its legs are short, however with elongated segments. The exopod in the legs 1, 2, 4 is 3-segmented while leg 3 is 2-segmented. The endopod of leg 1 is 2-segmented and as long as the exopod, while the legs 2–4 are 1-segmented and shorter than the exopod. Its rostrum is small, almost not perceptible. The operculum is large and with a smooth margin. The caudal ramus is narrow, 3–4 times longer than wide. The antennule consists of 7 segments.
Female: Length 0.50–0.60 mm
Male: Length 0.50–0.60 mm
Ecology and distribution
Parastenocaris brevipes was recently found in a locality east of Oslo in Sphagnum close to the waterfront. Also previously, it has been reported from Eastern Norway (Enckell, 1969). The species is distributed in Palearctic and Nearctic. It is most common in Sphagnum tufts, floating lake vegetation and acid bogs (living also interstitial in streambeds) but also in sandy and stony bottom substrate in the littoral of lakes.
