Palaemonetes paludosus

Palaemonetes paludosus
P. paludosus in a freshwater aquarium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Caridea
Family: Palaemonidae
Genus: Palaemonetes
Species: P. paludosus
Binomial name
Palaemonetes paludosus
(Gibbes, 1850) [1]

Palaemonetes paludosus, the eastern grass shrimp,[2] is a species of freshwater shrimp from the Eastern United States.

Contents

Description

Palaemonetes paludosus is up to 2.5 cm (1.0 in) long and largely transparent. By manipulating the pigment granules in its body, it can produce effective camouflage against its background.[3] It is very similar to P. kadiakensis, from which it can be distinguished by the arrangement of spines on the telson.[2]

Distribution

Palaemonetes paludosus is common in southern states east of the Appalachian Mountains. It is also found in Louisiana, where it may not be native, and there are scattered records from further west, in Texas and California.[2]

Ecology

Palaemonetes paludosus lives in fresh water or slightly brackish water, usually in lakes.[2] It is nocturnal, remaining hidden among the vegetation by day, and emerging at night to feed on plankton.[3] It is an important prey item for a number of birds and fishes,[4] and may be considered a keystone species.[5]

References

External identifiers for Palaemonetes paludosus
EOL 7679647
ITIS 96385
Also found in: SeaLifeBase
  1. ^ "Palaemonetes paludosus (Gibbes, 1850)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=96385. Retrieved March 28, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c d Jerry G. Walls (2009). "Appendix 2. Freshwater shrimp in Louisiana". Crawfishes of Louisiana. Louisiana State University. pp. 216–224. ISBN 9780807134092. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JAG2Aut6yKcC&pg=PA219. 
  3. ^ a b Doug Stamm (2008). "Appendix A. More about springs inhabitants". The Springs of Florida (2nd ed.). Pineapple Press. pp. 93–108. ISBN 9781561644223. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WME603o89XwC&pg=PA100. 
  4. ^ John S. Richardson & Michael J. Jackson (2003). "Aquatic invertebrates". In Martin Richard Perrow & Anthony J. Davy. Handbook of Ecological Restoration, Volume 2. Cambridge University Press. pp. 300–323. ISBN 9780521791281. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_pQs7AMO21wC&pg=PA313. 
  5. ^ Richard W. Merritt, Michael J. Higgins, Kenneth W. Cummins & Brigitte Vandeneeden (1999). "The Kissimmee River–riparian marsh ecosystem, Florida. Seasonal differences in invertebrate functional feeding group relationships". In Darold P. Batzer, Russell Ben Rader & Scott A. Wissinger. Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 55–80. ISBN 9780471292586. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qJJg0i4ocToC&pg=PA75. 

External links