Palaemon affinis
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| Palaemon affinis H. Milne Edwards, 1837 |
Palaemon affinis, or New Zealand glass shrimp, is a shrimp of the family Palaemonidae, endemic to New Zealand. It is extremely common, being found subtidally, and in intertidal rock pools, throughout New Zealand. Its length is up to 75 mm.
The New Zealand glass shrimp uses its transparency as camouflage, being very difficult to see when stationary. Although mainly transparent, there are fine black or brown lines, and there is a large black spot ringed with orange on each side at the base of the last limbs, and the walking legs are banded with orange and black above each joint. It feeds by night, moving up the shore with the flood tide and is often stranded in pools by the ebb. In fact, it is difficult to find a rock pool that doesn't contain these shrimp. Its food is decaying plants and animals, diatoms, green Enteromorpha seaweed, and living animals such as mysid shrimps , amphipods and recently settled barnacles.
The New Zealand glass shrimp can walk, swim gracefully by flapping the small limbs of the abdomen, or shoot away suddenly by a quick bending of its tail. It can move both forwards and backwards with ease.
[edit] References
- Miller M & Batt G, Reef and Beach Life of New Zealand, William Collins (New Zealand) Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1973
