Bathyporeia shows a typical feeding position lying upside down in a small cavity in the sand, and may be considered a selective deposit feeder. It feeds by cleaning sand grains from adhering micro-organisms and detritus (Nicolaisen & Kanneworff, 1969). [details]

Description: Amphipod with laterally flattened body, rather slender and elongate. Up to 6 mm long. Head without
rostrum but with clearly discernible eyes. The upper antennae seem to be standing on an outgrowth
of the head. Usually not pigmented. [details]

Distribution: In the 1976-1986 period Bathyporeia elegans was only observed near the western coastal zone, the Flemish and the Zeeland Banks. In this period the species reaches a maximum density of 90 ind./m2. The distribution pattern is extended in the 1994-2001 period with different observations in the area of the Hinder Banks. Maximum densities amounted to 2,500 ind./m2. [details]

Distribution: B. elegans is one of the most common macrobenthic species on the Dutch Continental Shelf and the most abundant species of the genus Bathyporeia. It is not present in the deeper
central Oyster Ground and the Wadden Sea. [details]

Distribution: common or abundant [details]

Habitat: B. elegans species prefers fine sand with a low content of mud. [details]

Habitat: Bathyporeia elegans is mainly found in medium to coarse-grained sediments (median grain size > 150 μm) with a low mud content (chiefly < 20%). The optimal sediment type has a median grain size of 200 to 350 μm (relative occurrence: > 30%) and a mud content of maximum 10% (relative occurrence: > 20%). [details]

Morphology: B. elegans has a length of up to 6 mm. Its body is laterally compressed, rather slender and elongate. The head has no rostrum and the eyes are distinct. The body is devoid of pigment. The telson is completely split (Lincoln, 1979; Hayward & Ryland, 1990). Species of the genus Bathyporeia are remarkably similar in general rnorphology. They mostly differ in the number or size of little spines that are present at the plates covering their bodies. [details]