This shrimp can be found all over the world
I encountered this semi-transparent shrimp while diving in Little Cayman. Confusingly this black coral shrimp is not on black coral in this photo. Instead it is on a sea rod which is attached to a vertical wall. In diving, we creatively call this type of diving “wall diving.” It is a surreal feeling floating over the abyss. Underneath you it is thousands of feet deep. Next to you is a massive geological formation covered in life. The clarity of the water is exceptional. Occasionally, you look up and see the silhouette of a shark or turtle above.
Periclimenes antipathophilus is the scientific name for black coral shrimp. This type of shrimp is known for its transparent body. Sometimes they are referred to as glass shrimp. This shrimp can be found all over the world, but they are mainly concentrated in the warmer waters of the tropics. There are a variety of similar species with different colors and patterns. I searched pretty extensively to find this exact species of shrimp. It is not a species I can say I’ve seen a lot. Part of this is due to the fact that it is found in deeper waters. Another part of it might be because they are small and transparent.
Wild Boyz Photography has featured other shrimp from the same family as the black coral shrimp. The spotted cleaner shrimp we featured in 2020 is also from the Palaemonidae family.
Both the spotted cleaner shrimp and the black coral shrimp are semi-transparent. They are roughly the same size. The spotted cleaner shrimp is about an inch long and the black coral shrimp is about half an inch long. They both have light colored eyeballs on the end of eye stalks. When approached by divers, both remain still and are easy to observe.
Christopher Columbus was blown off course during his fourth voyage and accidentally came across Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. He named these islands “Las Tortugas.” These islands are still known for their turtles. The Cayman Government actually has a beach monitoring program to assess the number of turtle nests across the three Cayman Islands. Here is the link if you are curious about the turtle nesting data of the Cayman Islands.
Both the spotted cleaner shrimp and the black coral shrimp are semi-transparent
Did you know?
- There are thousands of species of shrimp.
- The average lifespan of a shrimp is about 9-18 months. Some species can live for several years.
- Little Cayman is indeed little. There were only 161 people reported in their 2021 census.
- Little Cayman is ~60 miles off Grand Cayman and ~5 miles off Cayman Brac.
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