Parhyale hawaiensis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parhyale hawaiensis | |
|---|---|
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| Adult male | |
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| Feeding on a slice of carrot | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Amphipoda |
| Family: | Hyalidae |
| Genus: | Parhyale |
| Species: | P. hawaiensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Parhyale hawaiensis Dana, 1853 | |
Parhyale hawaiensis is an amphipod crustacean species that is used in developmental and genetic analyses. It is categorized as an emerging model organism as the main biological techniques necessary for the study of an organism have been established.
Parhyale hawaiensis is a detritovore that has a circumtropical, worldwide, intertidal, and shallow-water marine distribution,[1][2] and it may occur as a species complex.[3] It has been reported to occur in large populations (more than 3,000 per square metre) on decaying mangrove leaf material in environments subjected to rapid changes in salinity.[4] The ability to tolerate rapid temperature and osmotic changes allows this species to thrive under typical laboratory conditions. It is a robust species and is being considered for aquaculture.[5]
Life cycle
Females produce embryos every 2 weeks once they reach sexual maturity. Embryogenesis is relatively short, lasting about 10 days at 26 °C (79 °F). Females normally brood the embryos in a ventral brood pouch. Close examination of the embryonic development of P. hawaiensis has produced the most detailed staging system for any crustacean.[7] Complete embryogenesis has been divided into 30 discrete stages, which are readily identifiable in living animals or by means of common molecular markers in fixed specimens. Hatchlings possess a complete complement of segments and appendages which are morphologically similar to those of adult animals.
