🐾 Shrimp

Shrimp

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Who it is

• Scientific name: Suborder Dendrobranchiata and infraorder Caridea
• Family & relatives: Shrimp are small crustaceans, related to crabs, lobsters, and prawns.
• How to spot it: A shrimp has a slim, curved body, a fan tail, long thin antennae, and many small legs.

Its body & abilities

• Size: Most shrimp are just an inch or two long, though some tropical prawns grow much larger.
• Weight: Shrimp are very light, usually weighing only a fraction of an ounce.
• Body & adaptations: A shrimp has a thin outer shell, a segmented body, ten legs, and swimming legs under its tail called swimmerets.
• Top speed: Shrimp can flick their tail to dart backward quickly and escape danger.
• Strength: Pistol shrimp snap a special claw so fast it makes a loud pop that can stun small prey.
• Senses: Shrimp have compound eyes and use their long antennae to feel and smell their surroundings.
• Growing up: Shrimp hatch from eggs as tiny larvae that drift as plankton before growing into adults.

Where it lives

• Habitat: Shrimp live on sandy and muddy sea bottoms, among plants, and near coral reefs; some live in fresh water.
• Where in the world: Shrimp are found in oceans and fresh waters all over the world.
• Territory: Most shrimp roam freely, but cleaner shrimp keep a station on the reef where fish come to be cleaned.

What it eats

• Diet: Most shrimp are omnivores and scavengers that eat tiny bits of food from the water and sea floor.
• Favorite foods: They eat algae, plankton, tiny worms, and bits of dead plants and animals.
• How it hunts: Shrimp pick up food with their small front legs and sift particles from the sand and water.

How it behaves

• How it moves: Shrimp swim gently with their swimmerets and dart backward by snapping their tail.
• When it is active: Many shrimp hide during the day and feed at night.
• Family life: Shrimp often gather in large groups, and some snapping shrimp even live in colonies like insects.
• How it talks: Cleaner shrimp wave their antennae to invite fish, and pistol shrimp signal with loud claw snaps.
• Babies: Females release or carry many eggs that hatch into free-floating larvae.

Its place in nature

• Role in nature: Shrimp are a key food for countless fish, whales, and birds, and they help recycle the ocean's waste.
• Conservation: Wild shrimp are widely fished, and some fishing and shrimp farming can harm habitats like mangroves.
• Dangers: Shrimp are eaten by almost every ocean predator, from small fish to giant whales.

Life & legacy

• How long it lives: Most shrimp live only one to a few years.
• In our culture: Shrimp is one of the most popular seafoods in the world, eaten in countless dishes.
• Where to see it: Spot shrimp in tide pools, in aquariums, and while snorkeling near reefs and sea grass.
• Fun fact: The pistol shrimp's snapping claw makes a bubble so hot it briefly flashes light underwater.