Barrel Roller Amphipod

Barrel Roller Amphipod

Barrel Rollers are amphipods. Amphipods are crustaceans that are related to crabs, shrimp, lobsters, etc. The amphipod genus here is Phronima. These crustaceans range from two or three centimeters in total length to less than a cm - depending on the species. They have beautiful compound eyes. These creatures also have interesting reproductive behavior. Female barrel rollers search the ocean currents for an appropriately sized gelatinous creature (eg, siphonophore, jellyfish, pyrosome, or salp). Once she gets what she wants, she crawls inside the gelatinous creature, carves it into a specific shape, and hollows it out - killing it in the process. She carves the body into a rounded tube with a clear passage inside of it think of a short, fat, and stubby cigar with a hollow center. The name barrel roller comes from observations of these amphipods living inside the rounded and carved bodies of whatever gelatinous creature was used to build the barrel. But the story doesn't end there.

Album / Science Source / Dante Fenolio

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6000 x 6036 px | 103.6 MB

50.8 x 51.1 cm | 20.0 x 20.1 in (300 dpi)