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Guide to New Zealand's freshwater invertebrates
Mysid shrimps
(
Mysidae
: Tenagomysis
)
Diagnostic features
Tenagomysis is a mysid shrimp usually found in estuarine waters with some salinity. The body is smaller and more slender than Paratya shrimps, and unlike Paratya there is no long pointed rostrum (blade-like structure) projecting forward between the eyes. Tenagomysis incubates its eggs in an oval brood pouch located at the base of the legs.
Typical habitats
Tenagomysis are most common in the slow flowing and muddy habitats of upper estuaries.
Feeding
They are collector-gatherers, feeding on fine organic detritus, algae and small invertebrates.
Indicator value
The presence of Tenagomysis in stream habitats is likely to indicate salinity from sea water intrusion. They have been assigned a soft bottom tolerance value of 6.4 but no hard bottom value has been assigned.
