Hawaii shrimps

hawaiisfishes.com

Some interesting shrimps not in Hawaii's Sea Creatures
(Unofficial?) Bishop Museum lists of Hawaiian shrimps:

stenopodids (boxer shrimps)
caridean shrimps (most reef shrimps)
stomatopods (mantis shrimps)

PEARL OYSTER SHRIMP
Conchodytes meleagrinae Peters, 1852
Shine your dive light into a Blacklipped Pearl Oyster, and quickly, before it closes its valves, you just might catch a glimpse of one of these fat little commensal shrimps. They live inside these oysters, probably never leaving their host. Although I mentioned this shrimp in my book in the pearl oyster writeup, I misspelled the scientific name as Conchodytes meleagris. This will be corrected in the next printing. The American Fisheries Society has given it the official common name "Hawaiian pearloyster shrimp," which makes little sense because the species is widespread in the Indo-Pacific. David Fleetham grabbed this rare photo off Kaanapali, Maui, at a depth of 40 ft. Visit Dave's website at http://davidfleetham.com/

BARRED WIRE CORAL SHRIMP
Pontonides ankeri Marin, 2007
It's official - the Barred Wire Coral Shrimp, previously "Pontonides sp. 1" in my book, has a new scientific name. Russian zoologist Ivan Marin described P. ankeri in 2007 from a number of Indo-Pacific specimens, but he lacked Hawaiian material to examine. The identity of the Hawaiian shrimp was thus left in doubt. In February 2010 I sent him a specimen from South Point, Hawai`i and he confirmed that it is the same species. The name ankeri honors his friend and colleague, Arthur Anker, who specializes in snapping shrimps.

FLATTENED CORAL SHRIMP
Haripiliopsis depressa (Stimpson 1860)
Subfamily Pontoniinae
Actually, this shrimp appears in Hawaii's Sea Creatures on p. 223, but this is a much better photo. It lives in Cauliflower Coral (Pocillopora meandrina). The photo was taken at Ho`okena, Hawai`i at a depth of about 35 ft.

Urocaridella sp.
Subfamily Palaemoninae
According to Dr. Junji Okuno, an expert on shrimps of the genus Urocaridella, this species has not yet been named or described. It occurs from Hawai`i to the Western Indian Ocean and is similar in appearance and habits to the Clear Cleaner Shrimp Urocaridella antonbrunii on p 222. of Hawaii's Sea Creatures. I photographed it during the summer of 2005 at Makua, O`ahu, at a depth of about 45 ft. The eel is a Yellowmargin Moray, Gymnothorax flavimarginatus.

Exocliminella maldivensis Duris & Bruce, 1995.
Subfamily Palaemoninae
Mike Roberts photographed this beautiful little shrimp off Maui, at a depth of about 40 ft.. The ID was confirmed by Dr. Junji Okuno in Japan. Mike's photo is the first I know of from Hawai`i, though the shrimp appears to occur throughout much of the tropical Indo-Pacific. Mike says that the bright colors, esp. the blue, help him find these shrimps, which are very secretive and live in rubble. The first Hawaiian record of this species was made by researchers from the Bishop Museum, who collected it on the Atlantis wreck off Waikiki in 2001.

Cuapetes grandis ? (Stimpson, 1860)
Subfamily Palaemoninae
Katie Samuelson photographed this shrimp at Pupukea, O`ahu, (Sharks Cove) at 15 ft. I subsequently collected a specimen that looked much like it and sent it to Dr. Alexander Bruce, at the Queensland Museum. He identified my specimen as Cuapetes grandis (formerly Kemponia grandis or Periclimenes grandis), which has been recorded from Hawaii a number of times. However, the shrimp in Katie's photos could also be C. elegans (also recorded from Hawaii). Dr. Bruce would have to examine a specimen to be sure. Mike Roberts photographed what appears to be the same species at Ulua Beach, Maui, (see below). The white line between the eyes is distinctive of this group.