Thysanoessa

Thysanoessa
Thysanoessa raschii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Euphausiacea
Family: Euphausiidae
Genus: Thysanoessa
Brandt, 1851
Type species
Thysanoessa raschii
Michael Sars, 1864

Thysanoessa is a genus of the krill[1] that play critical roles in the marine food web. They're abundant in Arctic and Antarctic areas, feeding on zooplankton and detritus to obtain energy.[2] Thysanoessa are responsible for the transportation of carbon and nutrients from surface waters to deeper trophic levels. This genus serves as prey for various fish and provide energy to marine ecosystems as they are at a low trophic level. Most travel through vertical migration, meaning they travel up and down in the water column, providing food for predators at the surface during the night, and at deeper levels during the day.

  1. ^ "Thysanoessa Brandt, 1851". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  2. ^ Agersted, Mette Dalgaard; Nielsen, Torkel Gissel; Munk, Peter; Vismann, Bent; Arendt, Kristine Engel (2011-06-01). "The functional biology and trophic role of krill (Thysanoessa raschii) in a Greenlandic fjord". Marine Biology. 158 (6): 1387–1402. doi:10.1007/s00227-011-1657-z. ISSN 1432-1793. S2CID 84611597.