Banded cleaner shrimp
A banded cleaner shrimp that dances to signal fish.
Last updated
The banded cleaner shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) is a shrimp-like decapod crustacean belonging to the infraorder Stenopodidea. It has a pan-tropical distribution extending into some temperate areas, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. This species is notable for its striking red-and-white banded coloration and its role as a cleaner shrimp, using a dancing behavior to advertise its cleaning services to passing fish.
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumArthropoda
- CladePancrustacea
- ClassMalacostraca
- OrderDecapoda
- SuborderPleocyemata
- FamilyStenopodidae
- GenusStenopus
- SpeciesStenopus hispidus
Named by (Olivier, 1811)
Close relatives
Other species of Stenopus with a Codexery entry.
- Flameback coral shrimp Stenopus pyrsonotus
- Yellowbanded coral shrimp Stenopus scutellatus
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Stenopus hispidus (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 210370 (CC BY 4.0)
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.06 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Stenopus hispidus
Where the banded cleaner shrimp has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (7,961 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 62 inland records left out (institution coordinates).
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Quick Facts
- Scientific name
- Stenopus hispidus
- Maximum size
- 60 mm (2.36 in) total length
- Habitat
- Below the intertidal zone on coral reefs, at depths up to 210 m / 689 ft
- Diet
- Removes parasites
- fungi
- and damaged tissue from fish
Facts from the source article.
Background
Stenopus hispidus reaches a total length of 60 mm and has striking coloration. The ground color is transparent, but the carapace, abdomen, and large third pereiopod are banded red and white. The antennae and other pereiopods are white, and the abdomen, carapace, and third pereiopods are covered in spines. It has the ability to detect individuals of its species, an uncommon trait in invertebrates likely explained through chemical signals.
Its range is pan-tropical, extending into temperate areas across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Atlantic habitats include Canada, West Africa, Brazil, and the Gulf of Mexico. In the Indian Ocean it is found near Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. Pacific habitats range from Eastern China down to Australia, as far south as Sydney and New Zealand.
It lives below the intertidal zone on coral reefs at depths up to 210 m. This species is a cleaner shrimp that advertises to passing fish by slowly waving its long, white antennae.
It performs a dancing behavior, staying close to its home in the reef and whipping out its antenna as it moves side to side. This behavior, first observed in a lab, signals to fish that it is ready to feed and clean. It uses its three pairs of claws to remove parasites, fungi, and damaged tissue from fish.
Stenopus hispidus is monogamous, with females typically larger than males, and they occupy a territory 1–2 meters in diameter.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Stenopus hispidus (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; order, family and genus checked against WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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