Common Grass Shrimp

Palaemonetes pugio

The common grass shrimp has a delicate-looking, nearly transparent body with:

• A pointed, serrated rostrum, or "horn," extending over the eyes.
• First two pairs of walking legs have claws. The second claw is larger than the first.
• Segmented body is compressed on either side.
• Grows to about 1.5 inches long.

Where does the common grass shrimp live?

Grass shrimps can be found in bay grass beds and shallows throughout the Bay and its tributaries.

What does the common grass shrimp eat?

Grass shrimps forage for worms, algae and tiny crustaceans.

How does the common grass shrimp reproduce?

Grass shrimps usually spawn in summer.

• Mating takes place within a few hours of molting.
• As the female releases eggs, the male fertilizes them externally.
• The female carries the fertilized eggs in a brood pouch for about 12 to 60 days. The eggs can be seen through the shrimp's transparent body.
• Larvae are released and go through multiple developmental phases. The duration of these phases depends on water temperature and the availability of food.

Other facts about the common grass shrimp:

• The most common of the four species of Palaemonetes known to occur in the Bay.
• Often carries a parasitic isopod, Probopyrus pandalicola, which looks like a bulge near the shrimp's gill area.