SHORE SHRIMP

Defining physical characteristics :
Shore shrimp are graceful swimmers using their swimmerets and quick flexion and extension of their abdomen. The fan-like tail is comprised of uropods on either side of the telson. Several openings under the carapace into the gill chamber allow for free movement of water over the gills. Habitat:Shore shrimp are benthic and use their walking legs to walk along the substrate. They also can be found clinging to algae

Niche: Carnivore feeding on zooplankton; herbivore, feeding on algae; detritivore or scavenger, feeding on carrion.

Range: Atlantic Coast: Canada to the Yucatan Peninsula.

Personal Observations:The shrimp in my aquarium are quite tame and will swim up to my fingers to take food. They climb all over my submerged hand, feeling my skin with their antennae. Common shore shrimp are translucent, allowing you to see the color of the food in their gut. Their gut is green when they’ve been feeding on algae, pink when feeding on brine shrimp, etc.. Although they are translucent, one can still see subtle changes of color from one day to the next. In reading about them I learned that they have been used for the study of the hormonal control of color in crustaceans. These shrimp possess chromatophores, or color cells containing red, yellow, blue and white pigments which contract or expand independently, changing the shrimp’s color and hue.