The Anemone Shrimp (Periclimines sp) belongs to the commensal shrimp family Pontoniinae. There are many different genera and species of Pontoniine shrimps and there is still a considerable amount of work to be done on the taxonomy of this family. Almost all pontoniine shrimp species live in a symbiotic relationship and their common name ‘commensal’ means that they ‘live on or with’ other animals. There other hosts can include sponges, corals, anemones, molluscs, nudibranchs, sea stars, feather stars and sea cucumbers. They are most common in warmer tropical waters where there are more host species available however they are distributed throughout Australian waters.
Some species will only occur on one host and the Anemone Shrimp in the photo above is found on Heteractis sp sea anemones. The Pontoniine shrimps are a very small species and a diver must look very closely within the host such as an anemone or coral to find them. For photography a good macro lens is essential. Most Periclimines sp are smaller than 3cm. The Periclimines sp in the photo above was less than 2cm.
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