The crinoid shrimp, or feather star shrimpJones, Georgina. ''A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula.'' SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ''Hippolyte catagrapha'', is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Hippolytidae

Description

Crinoid shrimps grow to up to 3 cm in total length. They are well camouflaged shrimps which live on a host

crinoid Crinoids are marine invertebrates that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that remain attached to the sea floor by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms, called feather stars or comatulids, are ...

, the

elegant feather star The elegant feather star (''Tropiometra carinata'') is a species of crinoid in the family (biology), family Tropiometridae. Description Elegant feather stars may grow to 20 cm in total length. They are variably coloured in yellow to brown a ...

, ''Tropiometra carinata''.Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. ''Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa''

Distribution

These animals are found off the South African coast in False Bay and have been seen from 10 to at least 30 m underwater. They are probably

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to this area. There is evidence however, that these shrimp exist elsewhere in the world with the species recently observed in the Philippines.

Ecology

These shrimps have so far only been seen in association with crinoids. They probably eat the wastes of their host.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13231726 Hippolytidae Crustaceans described in 2007