Jassa falcata

David Kipling Jassa falcata? (from Strangford Lough, NI - in tideswept area but look a little different to the ones I usually see)

Erling Svensen I have earlier taken pictures of Jassa falcata. But I have a feeling that this tiny ones are another species? Any body that are clever at amphipodes?

Darryl Mayer This looks like it's extracting itself from an eggcase/larval sac?

Erling Svensen No, the build these sacs and live inside. I can put out anouther one....

Darryl Mayer Aha, a bit like Caddis Fly larvae (freshwater insect) and Strawberry Worms (marine) do?

George Brown Great shot Erling. I call the "sacs" sleeping bags. The amphipod is doubled up inside the bag and occasionally the tail comes out and wafts about. Maybe generating water movement for feeding or helping with breathing?

David Kipling Jassa falcata (Mewstone, Skomer) - for Erling and Marco.

Marco Faasse The thick, curved 2nd antennae are clearly different from those on Erlings photo.

Stuart Pearce Marine life under the microscope.... Here is my main interest, Amphipoda, tiny diverse crustaceans... Jassa falcata University of Hull, 2006.

Tom Hobock Quite Nice Stuart

Antonio Colacino A special picture :)

Marie-therese Bertin sublime!!!

Annie Bodar extraordinaire merci pour moi

Ernst Andres (Y) <3

Claudia Weber-Gebert <3 so tiny....

Stuart Pearce Thanks Tom, Antonio, Marie-therese, Annie, Ernst & Claudia :)

Erling Svensen Do any of you knows if the amphipodes builds some kind of house? (look at the image). I feel this quite strange.

Christine Howson Stunning photo - they build tubes.

Marco Faasse It's a Jassa. The huge "thumb" on the palm of the "hand" is characteristic of this genus. Hard to say which species without examination through a microscope.

Erling Svensen Do you have an exact name?

Erling Svensen Is it the same as I posted last week - Jassa falcata?

Marco Faasse I can't give an exact name. I would have to see if there are hairs in the basis of the second leg and if the hairs on the second antenna are feathered. I would say Jassa sp., same as last week.

Erling Svensen Thanks for the information.

Marco Faasse Same masses here Dawn Watson, sometimes we say Massa instead of Jassa. Erling Svensen, if you ever want an exact name for an amphipod or iospod, it will be a pleasure to me to identify a specimen in ethanol. I have the literature for Norwegian amphipod species.

Erling Svensen Thanks, but this means I need to kill it.... We norwegians only kill whales and cod ;-). I will think of you next time... Do you live in Netherland?

Marco Faasse Only kill for scientific research, just like the Japanese :-) But no kidding, if you find a species you think is very unusual I am willing to identify a preserved specimen. If you don't have ethanol, just use spiritus, after-shave or wodka. Yes, I live in the Netherlands, where you are world-famous :-)

Inga Williamson I believe they can cause real problems with their prolific " nest building" - can clog up water pipes etc.

Paula Lightfoot David yes there were lots of tubes, here's a better photo. Not sure what to record it as though, I know Jassa falcata makes tubes like this but perhaps other amphipods do too?

David Kipling We should find out - I bet there's someone on here who would know. Post the question over on SSID and see what people think.

David Kipling Although if it's the only one you know Dawn, perhaps you're putting loads of different species down as Jassa ;)

David Kipling A little googling comes up with another critter that seems to build tubes from my limited reading - Parajassa pelagica. Out-competes Jassa in shallower conditions with wave action apparently, and is another biofouler. Can't find any pictures of it. Keith Hiscock has written about it.

David Kipling It's mentioned in this wind farm biofouling report (which is an interesting read anyway, especially given the plan to put a farm just north of Lundy). http://www.agentschapnl.nl/sites/default/files/bijlagen/Pre-survey%20of%20marine%20fouling%20on%20turbine%20support%20structures%20of%20OWEZ%202006.pdf

David Kipling Can't find any pictures of it in tubes - have posted on the SS ID group where Keith is a member, he'll know.

Carol Horne Photos from last weekend...queries...any ideas/suggestions? The hedgehog sponge has some strange red sticklike things top left. Varieties of bugula?... The strange pink and white thing with polyps? And the brown colony of hard tubes, attached to the seabed with a thinnish 'stem'. Another one I thought might be Scrupulocellaria....

Daniel James McLaughlan Your 'pink and white thing' looks like leptasterias. I'll go on the laptop to get a better look at the others!

David Kipling Hard tubes look like colonies of Jassa falcata

David Kipling Red sticks look like stems of Nemertesia antennina flopped over on their side

David Kipling Are there any tube-dwelling amphipods in the UK other than Jassa falcata? I've come across mention of Parajassa pelagica, in the context of being a shallow-water biofouler, but can't find any pictures of it in its nests/tubes. And I have no idea if there are additional species. Keith ... you've written about these species, can you comment?

Jon Moore There are lots of tube dwelling amphipod species in the UK, but most of them live in sediments, e.g. all the Ampeliscids. Epifaunal tube dwellers include Lembos websteri, Erichthonius brasiliensis, Ampithoe spp, Microdeutopus spp, some of the Corophium spp and numerous others. However, most of the ones I see diving normally turn out to be Jassa falcata - they do seem to like the same tide-swept habitats that divers like.

David Kipling Thanks Jon!

Keith Hiscock Parjassa pelagica occurs in shallow depths on wave lashed reefs. Deeper than P. pelagica, Jassa falcata is the dominant jassid forming muddy tubes that may be so extensive that the seabed looks like a farmyard. Bob Forster commented in his 'Underwater observations on the fauna of shallow rocky areas ....' (JMBA 37, 473-482) that P. pelagica occurred to 13m at the Eddystone but only 2-4m inshore at the Mewstone. I have not found the definitive paper about depth ranges and do not have an image of Parajassa.

David Kipling Are there any tube-dwelling amphipods in the UK other than Jassa falcata? I've come across mention of Parajassa pelagica, in the context of being a shallow-water biofouler, but can't find any pictures of it in its nests/tubes. And I have no idea if there are additional species. Keith ... you've written about these species, can you comment?

Jon Moore There are lots of tube dwelling amphipod species in the UK, but most of them live in sediments, e.g. all the Ampeliscids. Epifaunal tube dwellers include Lembos websteri, Erichthonius brasiliensis, Ampithoe spp, Microdeutopus spp, some of the Corophium spp and numerous others. However, most of the ones I see diving normally turn out to be Jassa falcata - they do seem to like the same tide-swept habitats that divers like.

David Kipling Thanks Jon!

Keith Hiscock Parjassa pelagica occurs in shallow depths on wave lashed reefs. Deeper than P. pelagica, Jassa falcata is the dominant jassid forming muddy tubes that may be so extensive that the seabed looks like a farmyard. Bob Forster commented in his 'Underwater observations on the fauna of shallow rocky areas ....' (JMBA 37, 473-482) that P. pelagica occurred to 13m at the Eddystone but only 2-4m inshore at the Mewstone. I have not found the definitive paper about depth ranges and do not have an image of Parajassa.