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Systematic Resumé:	Kingdom Animalia Subkingdom Bilateria Infrakingdom Protostomia Superphylum Ecdysozoa Phylum Arthropoda Subphylum Crustacea Class Malacostraca Subclass Eumalacostraca Superorder Peracarida Order Amphipoda Suborder Gammaridea Family Talitridae Genus Uhlorchestia Species Uhlorchestia spartinophila
Authority:	Bousfield and Heard, 1986
ITIS TSN:	657396   (click on the taxonomic serial number to view the ITIS web page)
Habitats:	Salinity Zone: Marine
GCE Contact:	Steven C. Pennings, University of Houston, Houston, Texas

Uhlorchestia spartinophila is the most common shoot-associated amphipod in the Spartina marsh. These talitrids are almost always found on cordgrass shoots, not down on or in the marsh sediment. Steve Newell has watched them as they carefully pick out the parts of the decaying leaf that they want. They will scoop out the contents of fungal ascomata (the sexual-spore-containing structures) in decaying leaves, and they will eat pure mycelium of saltmarsh ascomycetes if it is offered to them. Photo