Platysquilla eusebia is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of mantis shrimp

Mantis shrimp

Mantis shrimp or stomatopods are marine crustaceans, the members of the order Stomatopoda. They are neither shrimp nor mantids, but receive their name purely from the physical resemblance to both the terrestrial praying mantis and the shrimp. They may reach in length, although exceptional cases of...

 in the family Nannosquillidae, from the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 and north-eastern Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. It is a spearer, and grows up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long.

Distribution

P. eusebia is found in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 and adjacent parts of the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. It is one of only two species of mantis shrimp found in waters around the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

 (the other being Rissoides desmaresti

Rissoides desmaresti

Rissoides desmaresti is a species of mantis shrimp native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.-Distribution:R. desmaresti is one of only two species of stomatopod found around the British Isles, and one of twelve species in the Mediterranean...

). Its occurrence in Galway Bay

Galway Bay

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city is located on the northeast side of the bay. It is about long and from to in breadth...

 off the west coast of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 may represent the northern limit of its distribution

Range (biology)

In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...

.

Description

P. eusebia grows up to 7 centimetres (2.8 in) long. It is a mantis shrimp of the spearer type, possessing raptorial

Raptorial

The term raptorial implies much the same as "predatory", but most often refers to modifications of an arthropod's foreleg that make it function for the grasping of prey while it is consumed, where the gripping surfaces are formed from the opposing faces of two successive leg segments...

 claw

Claw

A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end...

s with nine or more teeth. It may be distinguished from the other species in its genus, P. enodis and P. horologii, by the number of epipods, and from Rissoides desmaresti by the number of spines on the last segment of the raptorial claw, with R. desmaresti having only five.

Taxonomy

Although previously placed in the family Squillidae

Squillidae

Squillidae is a family of mantis shrimp, the only family in the superfamily Squilloidea . It contains the following genera :*Alima Leach, 1817*Alimopsoides Moosa, 1991*Alimopsis Manning, 1977b*Anchisquilla Manning, 1968a...

, Platysquilla

Platysquilla

Platysquilla is a genus of mantis shrimp erected in 1967 by Raymond Manning for species previously included in Lysiosquilla....

is now considered a member of the Nannosquillidae. P. eusebia was originally described in the geuns Squilla

Squilla

Squilla is a genus of mantis shrimp. It includes the following species:*Squilla brasiliensis Calman, 1917*Squilla chydaea Manning, 1962*Squilla deceptrix Manning, 1969*Squilla edentata *Squilla empusa Say, 1818...

, but was moved by Raymond B. Manning

Raymond B. Manning

Raymond Brendan Manning was an American carcinologist, specialising in alpha taxonomy and mantis shrimp.-Biography:...

 to be the type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

of the new genus Platysquilla in 1967.