''Lysmata'' is a genus of

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 infraorder

Caridea The Caridea, commonly known as caridean shrimp or true shrimp, from the Greek word καρίς, καρίδος (karís, karídos, “shrimp”), are an infraorder of shrimp within the order Decapoda. This infraorder contains all species of true sh ...

, the caridean shrimp. The genus belongs to the family Lysmatidae. ''Lysmata'' are popular ornamental shrimp in the marine aquarium trade for their bright color patterns, interesting behaviors, and ability to control certain aquarium

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

such as

sea anemone Sea anemones ( ) are a group of predation, predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order (biology), order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemone ...

s of the genus '' Aiptasia''. They are known to command high prices on the pet market. The genus is informally divided into two main categories. Some species are

cleaner shrimp Cleaner shrimp is a common name for a number of swimming Decapoda, decapod crustaceans that clean other organisms of parasites. Most are found in the family (biology), families Hippolytidae (including the Pacific cleaner shrimp, ''Lysmata amboi ...

which "clean" parasites and other material from

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, live in pairs, and are brightly colored, often in contrasting reds and yellows with white antennae. Other species are the "peppermint shrimp", which have semi-translucent, red-banded bodies, and live in large groups. Some peppermint shrimp perform cleaning behaviors, but less actively than do the cleaner shrimp. The genus has been studied with interest due to its unusual sexual system, protandric simultaneous hermaphroditism. While some other taxa of shrimp undergo

sequential hermaphroditism Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being simultaneous hermaphroditism. It occurs when the organism's sex changes at some point in its life. A sequential hermaphrodit ...

, they have only been observed changing from male to female. In ''Lysmata'', males become true hermaphrodites instead of females. So far, every species studied has been confirmed to have this sexual system. During their "female phase" they actually have functioning male and female tissues in their

gonads A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland and sex organ that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the testicle, ...

and produce both types of

gamete A gamete ( ) is a Ploidy#Haploid and monoploid, haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that Sexual reproduction, reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as s ...

. When paired, they take turns fertilizing each other's eggs. ''Lysmata'' occur in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and in warmer

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

waters. They usually live on rock and

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s, in shallow and deeper areas. Some live in

sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus ''Lysmata'': *''

Lysmata amboinensis ''Lysmata amboinensis'' is an omnivore, omnivorous Caridea, shrimp species known by several common names including the Pacific cleaner shrimp. It is considered a cleaner shrimp as eating parasites and dead tissue from fish makes up a large part o ...

'' *'' Lysmata anchisteus'' *'' Lysmata ankeri'' *'' Lysmata argentopunctata'' *'' Lysmata bahia'' *'' Lysmata baueri'' *'' Lysmata boggessi'' *'' Lysmata brevrostrus'' *'' Lysmata californica'' *'' Lysmata chica'' *''

Lysmata debelius ''Lysmata debelius'' is a species of cleaner shrimp indigenous to the Indo-Pacific. It is popular in the aquarium trade, where it is known as the fire shrimp, blood shrimp or scarlet cleaner shrimp. Taxonomy ''Lysmata debelius'' was species desc ...

'' *'' Lysmata dispar'' *'' Lysmata durbanensis'' *'' Lysmata elisa'' *'' Lysmata galapagensis'' *''

Lysmata grabhami ''Lysmata grabhami'' is a species of saltwater shrimp in the family Hippolytidae. It was first described by Gordon in 1935. It occurs in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean and is a cleaner shrimp, operating a cleaning station to which f ...

'' *'' Lysmata gracilirostris'' *'' Lysmata guamensis'' *'' Lysmata hochi'' *'' Lysmata holthuisi'' *'' Lysmata intermedia'' *'' Lysmata jundalini'' *'' Lysmata kempi'' *'' Lysmata kuekenthali'' *'' Lysmata leptodactylus'' *''

Lysmata lipkei ''Lysmata'' is a genus of shrimp in the infraorder Caridea, the caridean shrimp. The genus belongs to the family Lysmatidae. ''Lysmata'' are popular ornamental shrimp in the marine aquarium trade for their bright color patterns, interesting behav ...

'' *'' Lysmata malagasy'' *'' Lysmata moorei'' *'' Lysmata morelandi'' *'' Lysmata multiscissa'' *'' Lysmata napoleoni'' *'' Lysmata nayaritensis'' *'' Lysmata nilita'' *'' Lysmata olavoi'' *'' Lysmata parvispinosus'' *''

Lysmata pederseni ''Lysmata pederseni'' is a species of saltwater 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 – ty ...

'' *'' Lysmata philippinensis'' *'' Lysmata porteri'' *'' Lysmata rafa'' *'' Lysmata rathbunae'' *'' Lysmata rauli'' *'' Lysmata seticaudata'' *'' Lysmata splendida'' *'' Lysmata stenolepis'' *'' Lysmata ternatensis'' *'' Lysmata trisetacea'' *'' Lysmata udoi'' *'' Lysmata uncicornis'' *'' Lysmata vittata'' *''

Lysmata wurdemanni ''Lysmata wurdemanni'' is a species of saltwater Caridea, shrimp in the family Lysmatidae, historically referred to as the Peppermint shrimp, peppermint shrimp in the marine aquarium trade. However, taxonomic revisions based on genetic and morph ...

'' *'' Lysmata zacae''

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q140269 Alpheoidea