Alpheus richardsoni
| Alpheus richardsoni | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| 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.
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
- ^ Hurt, Carla; Hultgren, Kristin; Anker, Arthur; Lemmon, Alan R.; Moriarty Lemmon, Emily; Bracken-Grissom, Heather (1 May 2021). "First worldwide molecular phylogeny of the morphologically and ecologically hyperdiversified snapping shrimp genus Alpheus (Malacostraca: Decapoda)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 158 107080. Bibcode:2021MolPE.15807080H. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107080. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 33482381.
- ^ a b "Alpheus richardsoni Yaldwyn, 1971, Snapping Shrimp". Museums Victoria Collections. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ Wild Roo Designs (8 October 2020). "Richardson's Snapping Shrimp (Alpheus richardsoni)". Tomahawk, Tasmania. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ Anker, Arthur (9 May 2023). "Alpheus nomurai Anker 2023, sp. nov". Zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7921851.
- ^ "Shrimp, Northern Snapping". Marine Life Database. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ "Alpheus richardsoni Yaldwyn, 1971, Snapping Shrimp". Museums Victoria Collections. Retrieved 24 December 2025.