Alvinocarididae

Alvinocarididae is a family of shrimp, originally described by M. L. Christoffersen in 1986 from samples collected by DSV Alvin, from which they derive their name. Shrimp of the family Alvinocarididae generally inhabit deep sea hydrothermal vent regions, and hydrocarbon cold seep environments. Carotenoid pigment has been found in their bodies. The family Alvinocarididae comprises 7 extant genera.

Species

Alvinocaris
Alvinocaris alexander Ahyong, 2009 – South Pacific Ocean, southern Kermadec ridge, Rumble V seamount (at depths of ) and Brothers Caldera (at depths of ) hydrothermal vent fields. A. alexander closely resembles A. williamsi from the Menez Gwen site on the mid-Atlantic ridge
Alvinocaris brevitelsonis Kikuchi & Hashimoto, 2000 – West Pacific Ocean, Mid-Okinawa Trough , at a depth of .
Alvinocaris dissimilis Komai & Segonzac, 2005 – West Pacific Ocean, Mid-Okinawa Trough; recognised among the paratypes of A. brevitelsonis.
Alvinocaris komaii Zelnio & Hourdez, 2009 – West Pacific Ocean, Eastern Lau Spreading Centre, hydrothermal vents, at depths of . A. komaii is common among chemoautotrophic mussel, Bathymodiolus brevior.
Alvinocaris longirostris Kikuchi & Ohta, 1995 – West Pacific Ocean, Okinawa Trough, Iheya Ridge, Clam and Pyramid hydrothermal vent fields, Sagami Bay seeps, seamounts of Kermadec Ridge off New Zealand; Type locality: West Pacific Ocean, Okinawa Trough, Iheya Ridge, Clam hydrothermal vent field
Alvinocaris lusca Williams & Chace, 1982 – East Pacific Ocean, Galapagos Rift and vent fields on the East Pacific Rise at 9° N and 13° N, at depths of ; Type locality: East Pacific Ocean, Galapagos rift. A. lusca is the only species represented in the East Pacific Ocean.
Alvinocaris markensis Williams, 1988 – North Atlantic Ocean, Snake Pit, TAG, Logatchev, Broken Spur hydrothermal vent fields of the mid-Atlantic ridge (MAR); Type locality: North Atlantic Ocean, mid-Atlantic ridge, Snake Pit hydrothermal vent field.
Alvinocaris methanophila Komai, Shank & Van Dover, 2005 – North-western Atlantic Ocean, Blake Ridge Diapir , at a depth of ; similar to A. muricola; associated with mussel beds.
Alvinocaris muricola Williams, 1988 – Cold Seeps, Gulf of Guinea possibly Blake Ridge cold seep and Barbados Accrectionary Prism; Type locality: Gulf of Mexico, west Florida escarpment, from cold brine seep, , at a depth of .
Alvinocaris niwa Webber, 2004 – Brothers Caldera and Rumble V seamount, south Kermadec Ridge; Type locality: South Pacific Ocean, south Kermadec ridge, Brothers Caldera.
Alvinocaris stactophila Williams 1988 – Gulf of Mexico, Bush Hill hydrocarbon seep, , at a depth of .
Alvinocaris williamsi Shank & Martin, 2003 – North Atlantic Ocean, mid-Atlantic ridge, Menez Gwen hydrothermal vent field, , at a depth of .

Chorocaris
Chorocaris chacei Williams & Rona, 1986 – North Atlantic Ocean, mid-Atlantic ridge, Snake Pit, TAG, Lucky Strike and Logatchev hydrothermal vent fields; Type locality: North Atlantic Ocean, mid-Atlantic ridge, TAG hydrothermal vent field, at depths of .
Chorocaris paulexa Martin & Shank, 2005 – South Pacific Ocean, southern East Pacific Rise, Rapa Nui Homer hydrothermal vent site, ; occurs in large numbers on black smokers.
Chorocaris vandoverae Martin & Hessler, 1990 – Pacific Ocean, Mariana back arc basin; Type locality: West Pacific Ocean, Mariana back arc spreading center, Alice Springs hydrothermal vent field, , at a depth of . C. vandoverae is often found with mussels and snails of the genus Alviniconcha.

Mirocaris

Mirocaris fortunata Martin & Christiansen, 1995 – North Atlantic Ocean, mid-Atlantic ridge, Logatchev, TAG, Broken Spur, Rainbow, Snake Pit, Lucky Strike and Menez Gwen hydrothermal fields; Type locality: North Atlantic Ocean, mid-Atlantic ridge, Azores, Lucky Strike hydrothermal field, , at a depth of . M. fortunata has the broadest range of any alvinocaridid shrimp. It is dominant on chimney walls or chimney bases in the southern hydrothermal vent sites (Broken Spur, Rainbow, Lucky Strike, Menez Gwen).

Nautilocaris
Nautilocaris saintlaurentae Komai & Segonzac, 2004 – North Fiji Basin, White Lady Hydrothermal vent site, , at a depth of ; morphologically intermediate between the genera Mirocaris and Alvinocaris.

Opaepele
Opaepele loihi Williams & Dobbs, 1995 – Pacific Ocean, Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount, , at a depth of .

Rimicaris

Rimicaris exoculata Williams & Rona, 1986 – North Atlantic Ocean, mid-Atlantic ridge, Snake Pit, TAG, Broken Spur, Lucky Strike, Logatchev and Rainbow hydrothermal vent fields, at depths of ; Type locality: North Atlantic Ocean, mid-Atlantic ridge, TAG vent field, , at depths of . R. exoculata is the most extensively studied species to date, and occurs in active swarms that may be as dense as 2500 individuals per square metre. It occurs on chimney walls in the temperature range .
Rimicaris hybisae Nye, Copley & Plouviez, 2011 - Atlantic Ocean, Mid-Cayman Rise, Piccard and Von Damm hydrothermal vent fields.
Rimicaris kairei Watabe & Hashimoto, 2002 – Indian Ocean, Central Indian Ridge, Kairei hydrothermal vent field, , at a depth of ; also found in Edmonds hydrothermal vent field,  NNW of Kairei hydrothermal vent field.

Shinkaicaris
Shinkaicaris leurokolos Kikuchi & Hashimoto, 2000 – West Pacific Ocean, Mid-Okinawa Trough, Minami-Ensei Knoll hydrothermal vent field, , at a depth of .

References

External links
 Includes video of Mirocaris fortunata, Chorocaris chacei and Rimicaris exoculata.

Caridea
Animals living on hydrothermal vents
Decapod families
Extant Jurassic first appearances