''Ancylomenes pedersoni'', sometimes known as Pederson's shrimp and Pederson's cleaner shrimp, is a species of
cleaner shrimp.
It is part of the genus ''
Ancylomenes'' and was described in 1958 by
Fenner A. Chace Jr.
Fenner Albert Chace Jr. (October 5, 1908 – May 30, 2004) was an American carcinologist.
Life
Fenner Albert Chace Jr. was born in Fall River, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard University, and received his doctorate in 1934, and became a curat ...
as ''Periclimenes pedersoni''.
''Ancylomenes pedersoni'' is found in the Caribbean Sea, often associated with a
sea anemone
Sea anemones are a group of predation, predatory marine invertebrates of the order (biology), order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classifi ...
, at depths of . They are often found on the reefs off
Bermuda.
Description
Pederson's shrimp is a small transparent shrimp with bluish and violet markings on the body and long white
antennae and within its range is unlikely to be confused with other species.
Ecology
Pederson's shrimp lives in association with a sea anemone, either ''
Bartholomea annulata'' or ''
Condylactis gigantea
''Condylactis gigantea'' is a tropical species of ball anemone that is found in shallow reefs and other shallow inshore areas in the Caribbean Sea – more specifically the West Indies – and the western Atlantic Ocean including southern F ...
'', living among the tentacles with impunity. Before it can do this it needs to acclimatise itself to the anemone by progressively pressing its body and appendages against the tentacles for increasing periods of time. After this it is able to move between the tentacles without getting stung but if it is separated from its host for a few days, it will need to repeat the immunizing procedure. Up to 26 shrimps have been found associated with one sea anemone but usually there are just one or two. The shrimp offers cleaning services to passing fish and attracts their attention by lashing its antennae about. Fish visiting the
cleaning station will remain stationary while their external
parasites are removed and eaten by the shrimp, which even cleans inside the gill covers and the mouth. If a
neon goby
''Elacatinus'' is a genus of small marine gobies, often known collectively as the neon gobies. Although only one species, ''E. oceanops'', is technically the "neon goby," because of their similar appearance, other members of the genus are genera ...
sets up a cleaning station nearby, the shrimp will clean the client fish at the same time as the goby does.
[ Researchers have shown that fish recognise the sea anemone ''Bartholomea annulata'' as being a place at which the shrimps' services are likely to be available. The larger the sea anemone, the more likely fish are to visit it.]
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q3935119
Palaemonoidea
Crustaceans described in 1958
Fauna of the Caribbean
Arthropods of the Dominican Republic