California Biota Home Page....Animals....Arthropoda...Crustacea....Malacostraca


Subclass

Calman 1904

The subclass Hoplocarida is represented in California by the following:
Order Stomatopoda Latreille 1817 - Mantis shrimps
 Suborder Unipeltata Latreille 1825
Superfamily Gonodactyloidea Giesbrecht 1910
Family Hemisquillidae Manning 1980
Hemisquilla ensigera californiensis Stephenson 1977

Several other species of mantis shrimp live in the soft, sandy mud off of the southern California coast. The large (up to 30cm) Hemisquilla ensigera californiensis, which is found in the Channel Islands, among other places, is most likely to be encountered.  It is a large mantis shrimp, reaching up to 30cm.