Starfish Shrimp
Zenopontonia soror
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Subphylum
- Crustacea
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Order
- Decapoda
- Family
- Palaemonidae
- Genus
- Zenopontonia
- Species
- Zenopontonia soror
The starfish shrimp (Zenopontonia soror) is a small, flattened shrimp that lives on the underside of sea stars, matching their colour. Depending on its host it can be blue, orange, red, cream or mottled.
It grows to about 1-2 cm and lives on a range of sea stars, including cushion stars and crown-of-thorns starfish. It shelters near the oral groove and among the tube feet, feeding on mucus and food particles.
In the Philippines the starfish shrimp can be found by gently looking at the edges and underside of sea stars on reefs and sandy slopes. It is a close relative of the emperor shrimp.