Coleman's Coral Shrimp
Palaemonella colemani
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Subphylum
- Crustacea
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Order
- Decapoda
- Family
- Palaemonidae
- Genus
- Palaemonella
- Species
- Palaemonella colemani
Coleman's coral shrimp (Palaemonella colemani, formerly Vir colemani) is a glassy, purple-banded shrimp that lives among the polyps of bubble corals. Its transparent body is marked with fine violet lines along the legs and claws, and it is named after marine naturalist Neville Coleman.
It grows to about 1-2 cm and is usually seen on Plerogyra and related bubble corals, sheltering between the inflated vesicles. It feeds on mucus and small particles from its host. The species was moved from the genus Vir to Palaemonella.
In the Philippines it is a well-known macro subject on bubble corals along reef slopes and walls. A torch helps reveal its fine purple markings against the pale coral.