Ambon Crinoid Shrimp
Laomenes amboinensis
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Subphylum
- Crustacea
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Order
- Decapoda
- Family
- Palaemonidae
- Genus
- Laomenes
- Species
- Laomenes amboinensis
The Ambon crinoid shrimp (Laomenes amboinensis) is a small feather star shrimp, often striped, that lives among the arms of crinoids. It is named after Ambon in Indonesia, where it was first described.
It grows to about 1-2 cm and has a compact body with stout claws. Its colours vary with its host, and it shelters among the crinoid's pinnules, feeding on food particles collected by the feather star.
In the Philippines this shrimp is found on feather stars across reefs and slopes. Careful searching of the host's arms near the centre can reveal it.
Photo: Gregor Bailar, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist