General Description

Compact, shrimp-like body, large claws more or less the same size, sparsely setose. Spiny triangular rostrum (protrusion of carapace) over the eyes. Carapace smooth, eyes pigmented. Telson (posterior-most segment) without lateral teeth. Abdominal segments 2-5 rounded ventrally. Up to 2.5 cm long.

Biology

Mud shrimps build permanent burrows in firm sediment. Some large species, and there are many in the tropics, burrow up to three metres deep. Axiids have a compact, shrimp-like body, large claws more or less the same size, and oval branches of the uropod (paired appendage of the tail fan) with a joint across the end of the outer branch. Most have a spiny triangular rostrum over the eyes. Like all thalassinideans, the last legs appear disconnected from the ventral plate to which all the other legs attach.

Distribution

Southern Australia.

Habitat

Intertidal areas in mud, to depth of 27 m.

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