The Alabama cave shrimp (''Palaemonias alabamae'') is a species of

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

in the family Atyidae, found only in caves in the state of Alabama.

Conservation status

''Palaemonias alabamae'' is listed as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

both on the IUCN Red List, and since September 7, 1988, under the U.S.

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

Distribution

The Alabama cave shrimp is only known from five caves, all in Madison County, Alabama. Shelta Cave is the species'

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

, but viable populations have only been confirmed in Bobcat Cave and the complex comprising Hering Cave, Glover Cave and Brazelton Cave.

Ecology

''P. alabamae'' occurs in cave pools with silty bottoms. Predators of the Alabama cave shrimp include the southern cavefish '' Typhlichthys subterraneus'', the Tennessee cave salamander '' Gyrinophilus palleucus'', various

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

species, bullfrogs and raccoons.

Taxonomy

The closest relative of the Alabama cave shrimp is the Kentucky cave shrimp, ''Palaemonias ganteri'', which lives in

Mammoth Cave National Park Mammoth Cave National Park is an American national park in west-central Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper Sout ...

, Kentucky. The two species can be distinguished by size (''P. alabamae'' being larger than ''P. ganteri''), the longer rostrum in ''P. alabamae'', and the greater number of spines on the rostrum of ''P. alabamae''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3935149 Atyidae Crustaceans of the United States Cave shrimp Endemic fauna of Alabama Freshwater crustaceans of North America Madison County, Alabama Crustaceans described in 1961 Endangered fauna of the United States ESA endangered species