Mirocaris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

iMirocaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Caridea
Superfamily: Bresilioidea
Family: Mirocarididae
Vereshchaka, 1997
Genus: Mirocaris
Species

Mirocaris fortunata
Mirocaris keldyshi

Mirocaris is a genus of shrimp and the only genus of the family Mirocarididae. Before being separated to form its own family, this genus was classified under the family Alvinocarididae. These shrimps live on deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The species' habitat ranges from ambient to warm seawater (2-25°C) at depths from 850 m up to 2300 m. The only known species in this genus are Mirocaris fortunata and Mirocaris keldyshi. However, recent studies suggest these two species are not genetically distinct. M. fortunata was named for its discovery at the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent field.

This crustacean-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.