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Sapphirina

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Genus of crustaceans

Sapphirina
Sapphirina darwinii with egg cases
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Copepoda
Order: Cyclopoida
Family: Sapphirinidae
Genus: Sapphirina
J. Thompson, 1830
Species

See text

Sapphirina, whose members are commonly known as sea sapphires, is a genus of parasitic copepods in the family Sapphirinidae.

Description

Various species of male Sapphirina shine in different hues, from bright gold to deep blue. This is partially due to structural coloration in which microscopic layers of crystal plates inside their cells which are separated by minute distances, and these distances equal the same wavelength of the corresponding color of their "shine". The females are translucent, as are the males when they are not shining.

Species

The genus Sapphirina consists of the following species:

References

  1. ^ Rebecca Helm (February 20, 2014). "The most beautiful animal you've never seen". Deep Sea News. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  2. T. Chad Walter & Geoff Boxshall (2010). T. Chad Walter & Geoff Boxshall (ed.). "Sapphirina Thompson J., 1830". World Copepoda database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

External links

Taxon identifiers
Sapphirina
Categories: