''Lysmata debelius'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

cleaner shrimp Cleaner shrimp is a common name for a number of swimming decapod crustaceans, that clean other organisms of parasites. They belong to any of three families, Hippolytidae (including the Pacific cleaner shrimp, ''Lysmata amboinensis''), Palaem ...

indigenous to the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

. It is popular in the aquarium trade, where it is known as the fire shrimp, blood shrimp or scarlet cleaner shrimp.

Taxonomy

''Lysmata debelius'' was first described by A. J. Bruce in 1983, based on

type material In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

from

Polillo Island Polillo () is an island in the northeastern region of the Philippine archipelago. It is the largest island and the namesake of the Polillo Islands. It is separated from Luzon Island by the Polillo Strait and forms the northern side of Lamon Bay ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

commemorates

Helmut Debelius Helmut is a German name. Variants include Hellmut, Helmuth, and Hellmuth. From Old High German, old German, the first element deriving from either ''heil'' ("healthy") or ''hiltja'' ("battle"), and the second from ''muot'' ("spirit, mind, mood"). ...

, who had collected the specimens and sent them to a zoologist for identification. A divergent population from

Ari Atoll Ari Atoll (also called Alif or Alifu Atoll) is one of the natural atolls of the Maldives. It is one of the biggest atolls and is located in the west of the archipelago. The almost rectangular alignment spreads the islands over an area of about ...

in the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

was later described as a separate species, '' L. splendida'', by Rudolf Burukovsky.

Description

''Lysmata debelius'' grows up to long, with males and functional

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

s appearing similar. It has a red body, with conspicuous white antennae and white tips to the third to fifth

pereiopod The decapod (crustaceans such as a crab, lobster, shrimp or prawn) is made up of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment may possess one pair of appendages, although in various g ...

s. There are white dots on the

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

and legs; white dots on the abdomen distinguish ''L. splendida'' from ''L. debelius''.

Ecology

''Lysmata debelius'' is one of a group of species in the genus ''

Lysmata ''Lysmata'' is a genus of shrimp in the infraorder Caridea, the caridean shrimp. The genus belongs to the family Lysmatidae. ''Lysmata'' are popular ornamental shrimp in the marine aquarium trade for their bright color patterns, interesting be ...

'' that has the role of a

in reef ecosystems, alongside '' L. amboinensis'', '' L. grabhami'' and '' L. splendida''. It is a popular

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

pet. ''Lysmata debelius'' is a

and therefore any two individuals may mate. The hatching of eggs,

moulting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...

, and

copulation Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetra ...

cycle is identical to that of '' L. wurdemanni'', yielding weekly batches of

zoea Crustaceans may pass through a number of larval and immature stages between hatching from their eggs and reaching their adult form. Each of the stages is separated by a moult, in which the hard exoskeleton is shed to allow the animal to grow. The ...

e from each pair.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1312920 Alpheoidea Crustaceans described in 1983