iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

It's the 14th day of #crustmas! Today, a seasonally appropriate peppermint shrimp (Lysmata boggessi). This species lives in seagrass beds, oyster reefs, and in sponges unlike many species in the genus. Their vivid color and way of moving, swaying back and forth, make them popular in aquariums.

Close-up photograph of a peppermint shrimp, Lysmata boggessi, riding on my finger. The shrimp's body is a vivid shade of red and it's body is translucent. The red color pigment is arranged in thin stripes, with unpigmented spaces allowing one to see light passing through the body of the shrimp. It's eyes are black, with a dark stripe on the top surface of each eyestalk. The tail fins (uropods) are a deep crimson color. The shrimp is quite small, only about an inch long. Yellowish-green branching algae is visible in the background.

Close-up photograph of a huge female peppermint shrimp (Lysmata boggessi) in my hand. For her species she is massive, approximately two inches long. Her entire body is a bright red, with the unpigmented stripes characteristic for the species hardly visible. She is robust, with a thick abdomen and cephalothorax. Her uropods are a darker red color than the first. She is the largest and most vibrantly colored peppermint shrimp I have ever seen.

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Jo Wolfe, PhD @jopabinia.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

O Lysmata systematics, for those who have been naughty

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