Mushroom Coral Shrimp

Cuapetes kororensis

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Palaemonidae
Genus: Cuapetes
Species: Cuapetes kororensis

The mushroom coral shrimp (Cuapetes kororensis) is a translucent shrimp with bright spots that lives on mushroom corals and other large-polyp corals. Its glassy body is decorated with small white, yellow and purple dots.

It measures about 1-2 cm and is named after Koror in Palau, where it was first described. It sits among its host's tentacles and feeds on mucus and small particles, staying close to the coral for protection.

In the Philippines this shrimp can be found on mushroom corals on sandy reef slopes. Checking the edges and undersides of the corals with a torch is the best way to spot it.