Skeleton Shrimp Facts
- It must be pointed out that the descriptive term of Skeleton Shrimp actually serves as the collective common name for an entire Family of arthropods. All members of the remarkable group, as the clearly attention-grabbing name suggest, evolved as purely marine species.
- It’s also a relatively large group, actually containing hundreds of separate, individual species. The first official recognition of the impressive Family as such occurred in the year 1814. This took place as a result of the work of the respected English zoologist, William Elford Leach.
- Given its astounding ability to virtually disappear into its surrounding environment, this wonder of Naature and evolution also has other appropriate common names. Perhaps chief among these alternate, but highly descriptive names, is the applicable term of the ghost shrimp.
- Since the collective term of Skeleton Shrimp applies broadly to such a large number of different species, the various types naturally have differing population trends and numbers. Presently, however, none of the recognized species appear on the Red List of the IUCN.
- Though they’re not specifically currently placed on any such listing, many scientists routinely study and monitor them. This occurs due to their usefulness as indicators of ecosystem health, since their presence and abundance reflects local water quality and habitat conditions.
- Although each distinct species faces varying situations, dangers, and threats, most of them have some in common. One of these would be the peril posed by habitat loss, due to changing conditions in the oceans. The greatest, though, likely consists of ongoing climate change.
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Skeleton Shrimp Physical Description
Virtually every member of the group collectively named Skeleton Shrimp immediately catches the eye of those individuals fortunate enough to spot one of them. Most of them do so, though, mainly due to their unique appearance. That’s because every example of the Arthropod remains small.
Since this somewhat unusual designation refers to such a vast number of different species, numerous physical differences quite obviously exist. Despite that fact, however, many similarities between the various species naturally also exist, given the genetic relationship they each share.
One of these shared traits remains the evolutionary tendency of most of them to display a strong degree of the physiological trait known to science as sexual dimorphism. In the case of the vast majority of members of this Family, that characteristic manifests itself in terms of physical size.
The males of most representative species of these amazing creatures attain a significantly greater size than that of their female counterparts. Aside from this tendency, the many forms also share one more defining trait. In fact, this characteristic serves as the source of the collective common name.
Each of the recognized forms of the fabulous Skeleton Shrimp evolved as highly elongated and quite thin in shape. These additionally possess convoluted, twisting shapes to their bodies. Their color patterns, meanwhile, also differ between each of the members of the remarkably evolved Family.
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Malacostraca
- Order: Amphipoda
- Family: Caprellidae
Skeleton Shrimp Distribution, Habitat, and Ecology
Because, as we mentioned previously, so many forms of Skeleton Shrimp exist, the Family as a whole possesses an extraordinary range of habitation. In fact, members of this remarkably evolved group fill all areas of virtually every ocean and sea on the planet with their abundant numbers.
For the moment, the overall global population of this marvelous Amphipod appears to be spread around the marine portions of the planet roughly evenly. Due to this cosmopolitan distribution, they quite frequently encounter human presence, though most humans never even see them.
This degree of inconspicuousness mainly occurs due to the nature of the choice of habitat most of the species exhibit. The great majority prefer to live in the subtidal waters and low intertidal zones. More specifically, most choose to spend their time in regions of marine plants, mostly eelgrass.
A minor percentage of them, though, do prefer to inhabit the greater depths of the oceans. These few, however, virtually never interact with humans. Wherever they appear, however, these creatures develop as pure omnivores, feeding on protozoans, diatoms, smaller amphipods, and detritus.
Most of the multiple forms of Skeleton Shrimp generally feed on plankton, detritus, microalgae, and sometimes tiny invertebrates. When they do choose to hunt the latter, they typically do so an ambush predators. Their own predators principally consist of shrimp, nudibranches, and jellyfish.
Each generally lives a life that’s almost entirely either completely sessile or mainly so. Given what they attach themselves to, their shapes and colors provide an excellent natural camouflage. Their thin, stick-like bodies help them blend in with their environment, thus avoiding many predators.
Species Sharing Its Range
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