Spotted cleaner shrimp (Periclimenes yucatanicus)
Source-cited species reference: taxonomy from WoRMS, biology from SeaLifeBase, occurrence map from GBIF, description from Wikipedia.
The spotted cleaner shrimp (Periclimenes yucatanicus), is a species of cleaner shrimp common to the Caribbean Sea. These shrimp live among the tentacles of several species of sea anemones. They sway their body and wave their antennae in order to attract fish from which they eat dead tissue, algae and parasites.
- Scientific name
- Periclimenes yucatanicus
- Authority
- (Ives, 1891)
- Family
- Palaemonidae
- Order
- Decapoda
- Maximum length
- 2.5 cm
- Depth range
- 0–13 m
- Habitat zone
- benthic
- Gbif occurrence records
- 707
Classification (WoRMS)
Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Arthropoda · Class: Malacostraca · Order: Decapoda · Family: Palaemonidae · Genus: Periclimenes.
Accepted name: Periclimenes yucatanicus · Authority: (Ives, 1891) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 421713.
Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Palaemonella Yucatanica Ives, 1891.
Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=421713 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)
Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Periclimenes yucatanicus. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.
Maximum length: 2.5 cm · Depth range: 0–13 m · Habitat zone: benthic · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100 · Fishery importance: commercial.
SeaLifeBase notes: Size up to 2.5 cm TL (Ref. 126143). Maximum depth from Ref. 126124. It inhabits reef areas (Ref. 126124). Symbiotic, epibiotic (Ref. 97531) with sea anemones such as Condylactis gigantea and Bartholomea annulata , or even with some corallimorpharians and a scyphozoan jellyfish. It was also observed to be hosted by a scleractinian coral, Montastraea cavernosa in Yucatan Mexico (Ref. 126124). Dwells in reef and seagrass habitats in Belize. Forms obligate associations with sea anemones (Ref. 128695).
Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 24498) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Periclimenes-yucatanicus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)
707 georeferenced occurrence records for Periclimenes yucatanicus are published through GBIF from 32 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 78 distinct locations from a sample of 707 records, omitting 7 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.
Most records by country or area: Guadeloupe (175); Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (80); Martinique (76); United States of America (63); Panama (54); Mexico (44); Curaçao (43); Virgin Islands (U.S.) (38); Bahamas (18); Cayman Islands (18); Cuba (14); Honduras (14); Saint Martin (French part) (11); Belize (7); Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (7).
Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: Gulf of Mexico; Martinican Exclusive Economic Zone; Barbuda; Virgin Gorda; Antigua; Curaçaoan Exclusive Economic Zone; Cubagua Island; Saint Thomas; Lesser Antilles; Estado Nueva Esparta; Los Roques, Islas; Saint Martin; Guadeloupean Exclusive Economic Zone; Saint-Barthélemy Exclusive Economic Zone; Statia; Saint John; Southern Caribbean.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2225117) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2225117&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=421713 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Description and natural history (Wikipedia)
The spotted cleaner shrimp grows to a length of about 2.5 cm. It has a transparent body patterned with brown and white saddle shaped markings. The chelae and legs are boldly striped in red, purple and white. There are two pairs of long white antennae banded in black.
The spotted cleaner shrimp is found at depths down to about 24 m in the Caribbean Sea, southern Florida, the Bahamas and as far south as Colombia.
Breeding takes place in the summer and females have been seen brooding eggs under their abdomens in the months of July and August. After hatching, the larvae pass through several planktonic larval stages before settling on the seabed and undergoing metamorphosis into the adult form.
The spotted cleaner shrimp lives in close association with a sea anemone, either Condylactis gigantea, Lebrunia danae, Bartholomea lucida or Bartholomea annulata. It lives among the tentacles and up to six individual shrimps have been seen on one sea anemone. It swishes its antennae around in the water to attract the attention of passing reef fish. When they pose motionless beside the anemone, it emerges from the tentacles and removes and feeds on external parasites and flakes of loose skin from the fish. It even enters the mouths of fishes and cleans behind their gill covers apparently with no likelihood that it will get eaten. It has also been found associated with the sea anemone Rhodactis sanctithomae in the US Virgin Islands, a species of anemone not previously recognised as a symbiont species. Also in the Virgin Islands, it has been seen on the tentacles of the jellyfish Cassiopea.
Source: Wikipedia: Spotted cleaner shrimp — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_cleaner_shrimp (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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