What Is This?

Sun, Oct 4th, 2009  |   Marine Life 16 Comments

Sorting through images for an article, I came across this photo from my recent trip to Ambon. I think it’s a really small crustacean of some sort…perhaps a mantis shrimp?

The little critter is perched atop a bit of Halimeda algae, so it’s easy to get a sense of scale (really small!).

I can make out its eye, what looks like a pair of really long legs sticking out to the left, and what appear to be retracted claws (which is what makes me lean toward mantis shrimp as an ID).

Any crustacean experts out there happen to know what this is?

crustacean

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  • Ron Silver

    Tony,

    This appears to be one of the skeleton shrimps (Caprella sp.).

  • Ron Silver

    Tony,

    This appears to be one of the skeleton shrimps (Caprella sp.).

  • http://www.tonywublog.com Tony

    Hmmm. It’s a definite possibility. The nose area (for lack of a better description) doesn’t look like any skeleton shrimps I’ve seen before though, which tend to have foreshortened faces with long antennae, no?

    Also, I’m at a loss to explain the long appendages extending toward the left of the photo.

  • http://www.tonywublog.com Tony

    Hmmm. It’s a definite possibility. The nose area (for lack of a better description) doesn’t look like any skeleton shrimps I’ve seen before though, which tend to have foreshortened faces with long antennae, no?

    Also, I’m at a loss to explain the long appendages extending toward the left of the photo.

  • http://echeng.com Eric Cheng

    I photographed a very similar shrimp in Indo earlier this year, but it didn’t have the long appendages coming out of the butt. Maybe it’s a skeleton shrimp next to a bigger shrimp. Let me find the photo (stand by).

  • http://echeng.com Eric Cheng

    I photographed a very similar shrimp in Indo earlier this year, but it didn’t have the long appendages coming out of the butt. Maybe it’s a skeleton shrimp next to a bigger shrimp. Let me find the photo (stand by).

  • http://matthew-oldfield-photography.com Matthew Oldfield

    Tony – My first thought was a juvenile Saron sp. shrimp – they have hairy rostrums.
    Just seen a very similar shrimp on Ivan Choong photo stream on flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/i-nsc/3984545374/

  • http://matthew-oldfield-photography.com Matthew Oldfield

    Tony – My first thought was a juvenile Saron sp. shrimp – they have hairy rostrums.
    Just seen a very similar shrimp on Ivan Choong photo stream on flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/i-nsc/3984545374/

  • http://www.tonywublog.com Tony

    It does look like the same animal as the one in that image.

    Juvenile Saron seems quite possible.

    The long appendages, and the appendages that appear like retracted claws are a mystery though. Perhaps a trait associated with juvenile phase? Or perhaps something altogether different?

    No clue.

  • http://www.tonywublog.com Tony

    It does look like the same animal as the one in that image.

    Juvenile Saron seems quite possible.

    The long appendages, and the appendages that appear like retracted claws are a mystery though. Perhaps a trait associated with juvenile phase? Or perhaps something altogether different?

    No clue.

  • joe conery

    Tony,
    great blogs. Thanks for sharing. Sorry to post a fairly general question, but I’m looking into canon equipment/lenses and thought I’d investigate the camera/lens settings of pictures similar to what I’d like to shoot. Unfortunately, none of your shots have these details. Is this something you’d considering doing? Thanks.

  • joe conery

    Tony,
    great blogs. Thanks for sharing. Sorry to post a fairly general question, but I’m looking into canon equipment/lenses and thought I’d investigate the camera/lens settings of pictures similar to what I’d like to shoot. Unfortunately, none of your shots have these details. Is this something you’d considering doing? Thanks.

  • http://www.arnekuilman.nl Arne Kuilman

    Cool. I only say it at second glance. The yellow-ish circle is it’s left eye and it’s rostrum isn’t covered by algae. Those long appendages look misleading indeed. Juvenile Saron shrimp look like a definite possibility. Great find!

  • http://www.arnekuilman.nl Arne Kuilman

    Cool. I only say it at second glance. The yellow-ish circle is it’s left eye and it’s rostrum isn’t covered by algae. Those long appendages look misleading indeed. Juvenile Saron shrimp look like a definite possibility. Great find!

  • Leslie Harris

    Looks similar to Phycocaris simulans but not as hairy.

  • Leslie Harris

    Looks similar to Phycocaris simulans but not as hairy.