Biology:Alpheus richardsoni

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Short description: Species of shrimp from the Pacific Ocean

Alpheus richardsoni
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Caridea
Family: Alpheidae
Genus: Alpheus
Species:
A. richardsoni
Binomial name
Alpheus richardsoni
Yaldwyn, 1971

Alpheus richardsoni, commonly known as Richardson's snapping shrimp, is a species of shrimp in the family Alpheidae.[1]

Distribution

Richardson's snapping shrimp is primarily found in the South Pacific, in Australia (including Tasmania), New Zealand and several Pacific Islands as well.[2]

Habitat and behaviour

Richardson's snapping shrimp likes to live in reef and seaweed areas, at depths of up to 25 metres.[3] They use their large claw to make a loud noise which stuns their prey underwater.[2] Richardson's Snapping Shrimp is known to have a symbiotic relationship with gobies, especially the species Drombus ocyurus.[4] In this relationship, the animals dig a hole and the goby keeps watch for any potential predators and the shrimp protects the goby.[citation needed]

Diet

Richardson's snapping shrimp feeds on organic detritus and small invertebrates, which it hunts by stunning them with its claw.[5]

Size and appearance

Richardson's snapping shrimp has a dark green-brown body that is covered in lots of small red spots. One of its claws is much bigger than the other, a common feature in Alpheidae shrimp. It gets up to 6 centimetres long.[6]

References

Wikidata ☰ Q13308554 entry