Spotted cleaner shrimp

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Spotted cleaner shrimp
Spotted Cleaner Shrimp on Giant Anemone by Jessica Rosenkrantz.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Caridea
Family: Palaemonidae
Genus: Periclimenes
Species:
P. yucatanicus
Binomial name
Periclimenes yucatanicus
(Ives, 1891)

The spotted cleaner shrimp (Periclimenes yucatanicus), is a kind of cleaner shrimp common to the Caribbean Sea. These shrimp live among the tentacles of several species of sea anemones. They sway their body and wave their antennae in order to attract fish from which they eat dead tissue, algae and parasites.

Contents

Description

The spotted cleaner shrimp grows to a length of about 2.5 cm (1 in). It has a transparent body patterned with brown and white saddle shaped markings. The chelae and legs are boldly striped in red, purple and white. There are two pairs of long white antennae banded in black. [1] [2]

Distribution

The spotted cleaner shrimp is found at depths down to about 24 metres (79 ft) in the Caribbean Sea, southern Florida, the Bahamas and as far south as Colombia. [2] [3]

Life cycle

Breeding takes place in the summer and females have been seen brooding eggs under their abdomens in the months of July and August. [2] After hatching, the larvae pass through several planktonic larval stages before settling on the seabed and undergoing metamorphosis into the adult form. [4]

Ecology

The spotted cleaner shrimp lives in close association with a sea anemone, either Condylactis gigantea , Lebrunia danae , Bartholomea lucida or Bartholomea annulata . [5] It lives among the tentacles and up to six individual shrimps have been seen on one sea anemone. It swishes its antennae around in the water to attract the attention of passing reef fish. When they pose motionless beside the anemone, it emerges from the tentacles and removes and feeds on external parasites and flakes of loose skin from the fish. [1] [2] It even enters the mouths of fishes and cleans behind their gill covers apparently with no likelihood that it will get eaten. [6] It has also been found associated with the sea anemone Rhodactis sanctithomae in the US Virgin Islands, a species of anemone not previously recognised as a symbiont species. [5] Also in the Virgin Islands, it has been seen on the tentacles of the jellyfish Cassiopea . [2]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Stenopus hispidus</i> Species of crustacean

Stenopus hispidus is a shrimp-like decapod crustacean belonging to the infraorder Stenopodidea. Common names include coral banded shrimp and banded cleaner shrimp.

<i>Stenorhynchus seticornis</i> Species of crab

Stenorhynchus seticornis, the yellowline arrow crab or simply arrow crab, is a species of marine crab.

Cleaner shrimp Species of crustacean

Cleaner shrimp is a common name for a number of swimming decapod crustaceans, that clean other organisms of parasites. They belong to any of three families, Hippolytidae, Palaemonidae, and Stenopodidae . The last of these families is more closely related to lobsters and crabs than it is to the remaining families. The term "cleaner shrimp" is sometimes used more specifically for the family Hippolytidae and the genus Lysmata.

<i>Stichodactyla haddoni</i> Species of sea anemone

Stichodactyla haddoni, commonly known as Haddon's sea anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the family Stichodactylidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific area.

<i>Thor amboinensis</i> Species of crustacean

Thor amboinensis, commonly known as the squat shrimp or sexy shrimp, is a species of shrimp found across the Indo-West Pacific and in parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It lives symbiotically on corals, sea anemones and other marine invertebrates in shallow reef communities.

<i>Amphiprion nigripes</i> Species of fish

Amphiprion nigripes, is a marine fish belonging to the family Pomacentridae, which includes clownfishes and damselfishes.

<i>Ancylomenes magnificus</i> Species of crustacean

Ancylomenes magnificus, also known as the magnificent anemone shrimp, is a species of cleaner shrimp common to the Western Pacific Ocean at depths of 3–29 metres (10–95 ft). They are commonly found on stony coral, Catalaphyllia and the sea anemone, Dofleinia armata.

<i>Condylactis gigantea</i> Species of sea anemone

Condylactis gigantea is a tropical species of ball anemone that is found in shallow reefs and other shallow inshore areas in the Caribbean Sea – more specifically the West Indies – and the western Atlantic Ocean including southern Florida through the Florida Keys. It is also commonly known as: giant Caribbean sea anemone, giant golden anemone, condylactis anemone, Haitian anemone, pink-tipped anemone, purple-tipped anemone, and Florida condy. This species can easily be seen growing in lagoons or in inner reefs as either individuals or loose groups, but never as colonies. They are often used as a model organism along with others in their genus for facultative symbiosis with monocellular algae.

Coral reef fish Fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs

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<i>Stichodactyla helianthus</i> Species of sea anemone

Stichodactyla helianthus, commonly known as sun anemone, is a sea anemone of the family Stichodactylidae. Helianthus stems from the Greek words ἡλιος, and ἀνθος, meaning flower. S. helianthus is a large, green, sessile, carpet-like sea anemone, from the Caribbean. It lives in shallow areas with mild to strong currents.

<i>Ancylomenes pedersoni</i> Species of crustacean

Ancylomenes pedersoni, sometimes known as Pederson's shrimp and Pederson's cleaner shrimp, is a species of cleaner shrimp. It is part of the genus Ancylomenes and was described in 1958 by Fenner A. Chace Jr. as Periclimenes pedersoni. Ancylomenes pedersoni is found in the Caribbean Sea, often associated with a sea anemone, at depths of 1 to 15 metres. They are often found on the reefs off Bermuda.

Heteromysis actiniae, commonly known as the anemone mysid, is a species of opossum shrimp from the genus Heteromysis found in association with the sea anemone Bartholomea annulata. It is found in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Bartholomea annulata</i> Species of sea anemone

Bartholomea annulata is a species of sea anemone in the family Aiptasiidae, commonly known as the ringed anemone or corkscrew anemone. It is one of the most common anemones found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea.

<i>Lebrunia neglecta</i> Species of sea anemone

Lebrunia neglecta is a species of sea anemone in the family Aliciidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Heteractis aurora</i> Species of sea anemone

Heteractis aurora is a species of sea anemone in the family Stichodactylidae.

<i>Lysmata grabhami</i> Species of crustacean

Lysmata grabhami is a species of saltwater shrimp in the family Hippolytidae. It was first described by Gordon in 1935. It occurs in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean and is a cleaner shrimp, operating a cleaning station to which fish come to have parasites removed.

<i>Periclimenes rathbunae</i> Species of crustacean

Periclimenes rathbunae is a species of shrimp in the family Palaemonidae, also known as the sun anemone shrimp. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and the Bahamas. It was first described by American biologist Waldo LaSalle Schmitt in 1924 and named in honor of American zoologist Mary J. Rathbun. This shrimp is usually found living in association with the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus or occasionally with Condylactis gigantea.

<i>Periclimenes</i> Genus of crustaceans

Periclimenes, commonly known as glass shrimp or cleaner shrimp, is a commensal and often symbiotic genus of semi-transparent shrimp within the family Palaemonidae. Species of this large genus feature a wide variety of coloration and patterns, widespread distribution throughout much of the world's tropical oceans, and are often sought out for aquarium trade.

<i>Alpheus armatus</i> Species of crustacean

Alpheus armatus is a species of snapping shrimp in the family Alpheidae, found in shallow water in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It lives in association with a sea anemone such as Bartholomea annulata, clearing out sand from the cracks and crevices in which the sea anemone often lives.

References

  1. 1 2 "Spotted cleaner shrimp (Periclimenes yucatanicus)". Interactive Guide to Caribbean Diving. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Colin, Patrick L. (1978). Marine Invertebrates and Plants of the Living Reef . T.F.H. Publications. p.  338. ISBN   0-86622-875-6.
  3. Charpin, Florent. "Spotted cleaner shrimp". Tropical Reefs. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  4. Dorit, R. L.; Walker, W. F.; Barnes, R. D. (1991). Zoology . Saunders College Publishing. p.  734. ISBN   0-03-030504-7.
  5. 1 2 Ernest H. Williams, Jr. & Lucy B. Williams (1982). "First report of Periclimenes yucatanicus (Ives) (Decapoda, Palaemonidae) in association with a corallimorpharian anemone" (PDF). Crustaceana . 42 (1–3): 318–319. doi:10.1163/156854082X01055.
  6. "Periclimenes yucatanicus Spotted Cleaner Shrimp". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2012-07-18.