One of the 8 shrimps on WAnimals
Malacostracans · Decapoda · Alpheidae
Tiger Pistol Shrimp
Alpheus bellulus
It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary
The tiger pistol shrimp is a shrimp of the family Alpheidae in the order Decapoda.
Size
3 cm – 5 cm
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Sighting difficulty
Unknown
Fun facts
- fisiologíaIt can snap one claw shut so fast that it creates a cavitation bubble, whose collapse gives off a crack and a flash of light, much as the mantis shrimp does.
- The shrimp, almost blind, keeps an antenna in contact with the goby at all times; if the fish senses danger and moves, both dart straight back into the burrow.
- The snapping of pistol shrimp colonies is one of the loudest sources of noise in the coastal ocean and interferes with sonar.
- It snaps its large claw shut at more than 100 km/h, generating a cavitation bubble whose collapse produces a crack of some 210 decibels that stuns its prey.
- The collapse of that bubble briefly reaches temperatures close to 5,500 °C and gives off a flash of light invisible to the naked eye, lasting between 300 picoseconds and 10 nanoseconds.
- It lives in obligate symbiosis with gobies of the genera Amblyeleotris, Cryptocentrus and Stonogobiops: the shrimp, which sees very poorly, digs and maintains the burrow; the fish keeps watch and signals danger with a flick of its fin.
- The partnership begins early in development and usually lasts for life.
- If it loses the claw, it grows back at the next moult.
Life cycle & biology
- Habitat & environment
- Sandy and rubble bottoms beside coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpheus_bellulus
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 20 de 271 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Tiger Pistol Shrimp — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Asian Tiger Shrimp
Penaeus monodon
EndangeredWhale Shark
Rhincodon typus
Least ConcernHumpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
EndangeredGiant Manta
Mobula birostris
Clown Anemonefish
Amphiprion ocellaris
Banded Humbug
Dascyllus aruanus
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