''Rhynchocinetes uritai'' also known as the camel shrimp, camelback shrimp, or dancing shrimp is a non-aggressive

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

of the 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 ...

. They are saltwater shrimp, and are common in saltwater aquariums.

Description

The camel shrimp is a hardy saltwater shrimp, It is covered with red and white stripes that run across its entire body. ''R. uritai'' has a movable

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

or beak that is generally facing upwards. Male camel shrimp have larger

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 or claw compared to the female camel shrimp. The claw is formed when the shrimp reaches maturity.

Ecology

''Rhynchocinetes uritai'' is found under cracks and crevasses,

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

deposits, and rock caves because those

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s provide safe cover from

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s. They are often seen with other camel shrimp in their habitat. The common predators of ''Rhynchocinetes uritai'' are herring,

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

, sculpin and flatfishes. ''Rhynchocinetes uritai'' is a carnivorous shrimp and it feeds on detritus, phytoplankton,

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

, and frozen or freeze-dried bits of seafood. In captivity, camel shrimp will accept a varied diet of prepared fresh and frozen foods suitable for carnivores, examples of this are: vitamin enriched flakes, freeze dried

krill Krill are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian word ', meaning "small fry of fish", which is also often attributed to species of fish. Krill are consi ...

, or live adult

brine shrimp ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp. It is the only genus in the family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD from Urmia L ...

or nauplii.

Behaviour

Camel shrimp are carnivores feeding on

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

, and other small meats, they look for food by plowing through the sand, separating food, and sand particles, this behavior improves the aquarium environment at the same time due to the fact that they are aerating it. As the shrimp grows it needs to undergo a moulting process which replaces its old

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

with a harder new one, the shrimp may molt several times during its life. Camel shrimp has a tendency to damage soft corals, and anemones. Like most shrimp, it is nocturnal and usually hides during daylight hours, coming out at night to feed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14273562 Caridea Crustaceans of the eastern Pacific Ocean Crustaceans described in 1942