Pasiphaea is a genus of caridean (true) shrimp in the family Pasiphaeidae found from the Arctic to the Antarctic and living in the mesopelagic to bathypelagic zones. It contains the economically significant Japanese glass shrimp (P. japonica), which has been fished for over a century and a half.
Taxonomy The genus Pasiphaea was created in 1816 by M. J. C. Savigny to accommodate the species Alphaeus sivado, described the same year by Antoine Risso from a specimen from Nice. Numerous species were described in the genus in the 19th and 20th centuries, and by the end of the latter century, the taxonomic status of several species was quite muddled. Taxonomic work on the genus has been made difficult by numerous synonymies, names based on inadequate and brief original descriptions, and species separated by very minor morphological differences. In the 1990s, Ken-Ichi Hayashi revised several groups of species within the genus, and, notably, redefined the genus as a whole by considering the genus Phye as a synonym. Hayashi divided Pasiphaea into three informal groups, as well as a fourth category of over a dozen species of more miscellaneous physical characteristics. However, a 2026 study found that the morphology-based groups were quite at odds with molecular evidence collected, with the groups being scattered near-randomly across the genetic clades. New species were also added to the genus by Hayashi in the 1990s and 2000s and by authors working in the West Pacific region in 2012 and 2026. In particular, the 2026 paper – which revised the taxonomy of Pasiphaea in the southwest tropical Pacific Ocean as well – found that "even moderately abundant new collections can yield a significant number of undescribed Pasiphaea species", although some of those new species are represented by only a single specimen. The paper also found species in the New Caldeonia area that are very genetically distinct but are "nearly indistinguishable" based on morphological characteristics. The authors suggested that this may be the result of rapid speciation in the area caused by a rugged terrain divided by numerous seamounts and rises.
Species The description of eight new species of Pasiphaea from the tropical Pacific in 2026 brought the total number of species up to The World Register of Marine Species lists the following taxa as of 2026:
Pasiphaea acutifrons Spence Bate, 1888 Pasiphaea aequus Komai, Lin & Chan, 2012 Pasiphaea affinis Rathbun, 1902 Pasiphaea alcocki (Wood-Mason in Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1891) Pasiphaea allainae Tikhomirov & Vereshchaka in Tikhomirov, Kulagin, Lunina, Vourey & Vereshchaka, 2026 Pasiphaea americana Faxon, 1893 Pasiphaea amplidens Spence Bate, 1888 Pasiphaea antea Rodrigues, Alves-Junior & Cardoso, 2018 Pasiphaea arabica Timofeev, 1997 Pasiphaea barnardi Yaldwyn, 1971 Pasiphaea burukovskyi Wasmer, 1993 Pasiphaea chacei Yaldwyn, 1962 Pasiphaea corteziana Rathbun, 1902 Pasiphaea cristata Spence Bate, 1888 Pasiphaea crosnieri Hayashi, 2004 Pasiphaea debitusae Hayashi, 1999 Pasiphaea diaphana Burukovsky & Romensky, 1980 Pasiphaea dofleini Schmitt, 1932 Pasiphaea dorsolineatus Komai & Chan, 2012 Pasiphaea ecarina Crosnier, 1969 Pasiphaea emarginata Rathbun, 1902 Pasiphaea exilimanus Komai, Lin & Chan, 2012 Pasiphaea falx Komai, Lin & Chan, 2012 Pasiphaea faxoni Rathbun, 1904 Pasiphaea flagellata Rathbun, 1906 Pasiphaea fragilis Hayashi, 1999 Pasiphaea gelasinus Hayashi & Yaldwyn, 1998 Pasiphaea gracilis Hayashi, 1999 Pasiphaea grandicula Burukovsky, 1976 Pasiphaea hoplocerca Chace, 1940 Pasiphaea japonica Omori, 1976 Pasiphaea kaiwiensis Rathbun, 1906 Pasiphaea kapala Kensley, Tranter & Griffin, 1987 Pasiphaea komaii Tikhomirov & Vereshchaka in Tikhomirov, Kulagin, Lunina, Vourey & Vereshchaka, 2025 Pasiphaea korzuni Burukovsky, 1995 Pasiphaea laevis Hayashi, 1999 Pasiphaea ledoyeri Hayashi, 2006 Pasiphaea levicarinata Hanamura, 1994 Pasiphaea liocerca Chace, 1940 Pasiphaea longitaenia Kensley, Tranter & Griffin, 1987 Pasiphaea machfulae Tikhomirov & Vereshchaka in Tikhomirov, Kulagin, Lunina, Vourey & Vereshchaka, 2026 Pasiphaea magna Faxon, 1893 Pasiphaea major Hayashi, 2006 Pasiphaea marisrubri Iwasaki, 1989 Pasiphaea mclaughlinae Hayashi, 2006 Pasiphaea merriami Schmitt, 1931 Pasiphaea multidentata Esmark, 1866 Pasiphaea natalensis Burukovsky & Romensky, 1982 Pasiphaea notosivado Yaldwyn, 1971 Pasiphaea orientalis Schmitt, 1931 Pasiphaea oshoroae Komai & Amaoka, 1993 Pasiphaea pacifica Rathbun, 1902 Pasiphaea philippinensis Hayashi, 1999 Pasiphaea planidorsalis Hayashi, 2004 Pasiphaea poeyi Chace, 1939 Pasiphaea portalae Tikhomirov & Vereshchaka in Tikhomirov, Kulagin, Lunina, Vourey & Vereshchaka, 2025 Pasiphaea princeps Smith, 1884 Pasiphaea propinqua De Man, 1916 Pasiphaea pseudacantha Hayashi, 2004 Pasiphaea rathbunae (Stebbing, 1914) Pasiphaea romenskyi Burukovsky, 1995 Pasiphaea scotiae (Stebbing, 1914) Pasiphaea semispinosa Holthuis, 1951 Pasiphaea sinensis Hayashi & Miyake, 1971 Pasiphaea sirenkoi Burukovsky, 1987 Pasiphaea sivado (Risso, 1816) Pasiphaea taiwanica Komai, Lin & Chan, 2012 Pasiphaea tarda Krøyer, 1845 Pasiphaea telacantha Hayashi, 2004 Pasiphaea timofeevi Burukovsky, 1993 Pasiphaea tinyamchani Tikhomirov & Vereshchaka in Tikhomirov, Kulagin, Lunina, Vourey & Vereshchaka, 2026 Pasiphaea tokalaui Tikhomirov & Vereshchaka in Tikhomirov, Kulagin, Lunina, Vourey & Vereshchaka, 2026 Pasiphaea truncata Rathbun, 1906 Pasiphaea unispinosa Wood-Mason, 1892 Pasiphaea voureyae Tikhomirov & Vereshchaka in Tikhomirov, Kulagin, Lunina, Vourey & Vereshchaka, 2026 Pasiphaea westindica Tchesunov, 1984 Pasiphaea wirotaroenoae Tikhomirov & Vereshchaka in Tikhomirov, Kulagin, Lunina, Vourey & Vereshchaka, 2026
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