Blue Season Bali Newsletter March 2010
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What colourful invertebrate will capture its prey and keep it alive while taking up to a week to eat it?
The Harlequin Shrimp, Clown Shrimp, Painted Shrimp or Dancing Shrimp is a voracious predator of the seas and has a highly specialized diet of Linckia species sea stars, particularly the Comet and Blood Spotted Stars, which they locate using their antennae that resemble leaf shapes that can be moved from side to side.
They generally work in pairs and will often overpower prey that can be up to 10 times their size. By using their front legs that act like a needle, they ‘stab’ the star which temporarily paralyzes it and enabling the shrimp to flip them over and carry them off. They keep their food alive by feeding on it while in their captivity. They will start by eating the tube feet from the ‘arm’ tips inwards, until the sea star is completely consumed which may provide weeks of food for these shrimp. They have also been known to prey on the infamous ‘crown-of-thorns’ sea star so may play a role in controlling this coral-eating species.
The Harlequin Shrimp is a stunningly beautiful shrimp that like to live in rocky substrates, or substrates made of coral rubble as they are generally shy and retiring. They tend to spend most of the day in hiding only coming out at night to feed. These shrimp are white or a peachy-cream with vibrantly colored spots or splotches. Harlequin found in and around the Indian Ocean typically have blue or purple splotches, whereas ones in the Pacific region have red and orange splotches. Normally the shrimp from the Pacific are found to be a little larger than their cousins from the Indian Ocean, growing up to 2 inches in length. These sshrimp live in pairs with the bigger female releasing a unique chemical so that the smaller male can recognise their mates.
They also have blue tipped abdominal legs, while the legs of the male are transparent. Their eyes are located at the ends of stalks and the claws on a Harlequin Shrimp are tapered at the ends, and often have purple bands of colour over them. They have flattened chelipeds not pincers like most other shrimp that look like small white leaves with splotches of blue or red. They use these not as weapons or for hunting, but in a unique fashion to help flip over the sea stars. They grip the arm of the sea star with their claws then push away from the ground with their chelipeds, levering the sea star away from the bottom until it eventually falls on its back. Take a look at this video clip to see what I mean.
Contact us if you would like to see the Harlequin shrimp in Bali.
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