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Nymphon

{{Short description|Genus of sea spiders}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Nymphon-leptocheles.jpg

| image_caption = The pycnogonid Nymphon leptocheles grazes on a hydroid Tubularia indivisa.

| taxon = Nymphon

| authority = Fabricius, 1794

}}

Nymphon is a genus of sea spiders in the family Nymphonidae.{{WoRMS |id=134591 | title = Nymphon Fabricius, 1794 |access-date=20 August 2023 }}{{cite journal | vauthors = Anna SM, Tomás M | date = 2011 | title = A new species of Nymphon Fabricius, 1794 (Pycnogonida: Nymphidae) from northern Spain | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 2798 | issue = 1 | pages = 31–36 | doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.2798.1.2 }} The species within this genus are all benthic organisms found in most major oceans across the globe from the littoral zones to the deep sea, with a strong distribution around polar regions: Arctic and Antarctic waters.{{Cite journal | vauthors = Mercier A, Baillon S, Hamel JF |date= December 2015 |title=Life history and feeding biology of the deep-sea pycnogonid Nymphon hirtipes |journal=Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers |language=en |volume=106 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.1016/j.dsr.2015.08.015 |bibcode= 2015DSRI..106....1M }} Out of the sea spider genus, Nymphon is the most diverse with over 200 species had been described,{{Cite journal |last=Takahashi |first=Yoshie |last2=Kajihara |first2=Hiroshi |last3=Mawatari |first3=Shunsuke F. |date=2012 |title=Sea spiders of the genus Nymphon (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida) from waters around the Nansei Islands, Japan |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222933.2012.655797 |journal=Journal of Natural History |language=en |volume=46 |issue=21-22 |pages=1337–1358 |doi=10.1080/00222933.2012.655797 |issn=0022-2933|url-access=subscription }} with a majority of them being found in the Southern Ocean region.{{cite journal | vauthors = Mahon AR, Arango CP, Halanych KM |date=2008-09-01 |title=Genetic diversity of Nymphon (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida: Nymphonidae) along the Antarctic Peninsula with a focus on Nymphon australe Hodgson 1902 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-008-1029-5 |journal=Marine Biology |language=en |volume=155 |issue=3 |pages=315–323 |doi=10.1007/s00227-008-1029-5 |bibcode=2008MarBi.155..315M |s2cid=18420829 |url-access=subscription }} This genus may also contain bioluminescent species.{{cite journal | vauthors = Herring PJ | title = Systematic distribution of bioluminescence in living organisms | journal = Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence | volume = 1 | issue = 3 | pages = 147–163 | date = May 1987 | pmid = 3503524 | doi = 10.1002/bio.1170010303 }}

Distribution

Sea spiders in general are found all around the globe. The Nymphon genus has been commonly found in waters of higher latitudes and is associated with polar regions and having a more circumpolar distribution than other genus of sea spider. They are extremely abundant within polar regions, with Nymphon having the most species found in polar waters.{{Cite journal | vauthors = Munilla T, Membrives AS |date=April 2009 |title=Check-list of the pycnogonids from Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters: zoogeographic implications |journal=Antarctic Science |language=en |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=99–111 |doi=10.1017/S095410200800151X |bibcode=2009AntSc..21...99M |s2cid=56023359 |doi-access=free }} In relation to the benthos, mainly inhabit marine fauna and are often found around sessile communities.{{cite book | vauthors = Bamber RN | chapter = Sea-Spiders |date=2009 | title = Marine Biodiversity of Costa Rica, Central America |volume=86 |pages=307–311 | veditors = Wehrtmann IS, Cortés J |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-8278-8_28 |isbn=978-1-4020-8277-1 }}

Feeding

Generally, it is thought that Nymphon feed on hydroids, actinians, bryozoans, molluscs, annelids, crustaceans, and detritus. They have strong associations with corals and algae. However, feeding behavior in relation to coral and algae has not been observed and there is no current evidence of finding coral or algae material in their gut.{{cite journal | vauthors = Dietz L, Dömel JS, Leese F, Lehmann T, Melzer RR | title = Feeding ecology in sea spiders (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida): what do we know? | journal = Frontiers in Zoology | volume = 15 | issue = 1 | pages = 7 | date = December 2018 | pmid = 29568315 | pmc = 5856303 | doi = 10.1186/s12983-018-0250-4 | doi-access = free }}

Species

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References

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Category:Pycnogonid genera

Category:Dubiously bioluminescent organisms

Category:Taxa named by Otto Fabricius