Spinning shrimp
Atya lanipes
Description 2
This species is 1 of 5 freshwater shrimp inhabiting tropical streams also known as "guts" in St. Thomas U.S Virgin Islands. This species is diadromous or migratory, spawning in brackish/salt water and leaving the marine environment as juveniles and migrating into freshwater bodies such as creeks, streams and rivers. This species of filter feeder prefers pools with slow trickling water. Species are able to filter feed in pools with low velocity waters. This species varies from a dark brown color to a gray translucent color depending on tannins in the water that occur naturally from leaves and other plant related debris that essentially stains the water. Species turn translucent or gray in clear water. This species is usually really good at camouflaging itself under leaves, twigs and mud in the guts. At times they can be observed clinging to pieces of wood that have entered the pools in the gut.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Kayla Tennant, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Kayla Tennant
- (c) Kayla Tennant, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
