''Rhynchocinetes durbanensis'', commonly known as the camel shrimp and the hingebeak prawn, 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 ...

(family

Rhynchocinetidae The family Rhynchocinetidae are a group of small, reclusive red-and-white shrimp. This family typically has an upward-hinged foldable rostrum, hence its taxon name ''Rhynchocinetidae'', which means ''movable beak''; this gives these shrimps their ...

) found in 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 ...

. Up to in length, the shrimp has large black eyes, and features red and white lines on a translucent body. It has many white ''ocelli'' (spots) as well as a Y-shaped white mark on the upper front part of its

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

. It is strongly

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

, and dominant males have larger first pair of

cheliped A chela ()also called a claw, nipper, or pinceris a pincer-like organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek , through New Latin '. The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are called chelipeds. ...

s. The shrimp is found in hollows and crevices from deep, where it forms groups consisting of dozens of individuals. One study determined that the ovigerous females carry from 267 to 1764 eggs, and the eggs take 9 days to hatch after

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

at a temperature of , or 18 days when the temperature is under . ''R. durbanensis'' has been frequently confused with '' R. uritai'', and also closely resembles '' R. brucei''. ''R. durbanensis'' was first described scientifically by

Isabella Gordon Isabella Gordon OBE FZS FLS (18 May 1901 – 11 May 1988) was a Scottish marine biologist who specialised in carcinology and was an expert in crabs and sea spiders. She worked at the Natural History Museum and received an OBE in 1961. Ea ...

in 1936.

References

External links

* * Caridea Crustaceans described in 1936 {{Caridea-stub