Stichprobenzusammensetzung

Stichprobenzus is a fictional genus of small marine invertebrates created for illustrative purposes in a taxonomy stub. In the imagined world, Stichprobenzus inhabits soft-bottom sediments in temperate coastal waters and plays a minor role in the benthic detrital food web.

Morphology and diagnosis: Members are diminutive, typically 0.6–1.5 mm long, with dorsoventrally flattened bodies, a segmented trunk, and paired ventral structures used for substrate adhesion. The head bears simple sensory organs, and the posterior end ends in a bilobed telson-like projection. In the fictional diagnostic features, the species can be distinguished by the arrangement of lateral plate margins and the pattern of ventral ridge.

Taxonomy: Stichprobenzus is described as part of the fictional family Stichprobenidae within the order Sorgeata. The genus name is constructed from stich- and prob- with a suffix -enzus to convey unity of segmentation.

Species: The type species is Stichprobenzus primus. A second species, Stichprobenzus secundus, is described from a different temperate locale in the imaginary dataset.

Distribution and ecology: In the imagined world, Stichprobenzus occurs in temperate coastal seas and inhabits soft sediments. They feed on microalgae and detritus and reproduce sexually; in some populations, parthenogenesis is postulated.

Discovery and nomenclature: The genus was proposed by fictional taxonomist A. Nova in 2024 for taxonomic exercises. Notes: This article concerns a fictional taxon created for demonstration and does not reference real organisms.