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.
• A segmented body that is compressed on either side.

The grass shrimp's first two pairs of walking legs have claws. Grass shrimp grow to about 1.5 inches long.

Where does the common grass shrimp live?

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

View this video of grass shrimp swimming near a piling in the Bay:

What does the common grass shrimp eat?

Grass shrimp forage for worms, algae and tiny crustaceans.

How does the common grass shrimp reproduce?

Grass shrimp usually spawn in summer.

• Within a few hours of molting, grass shrimp mate.
• As the female grass shrimp 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.
• Grass shrimp larvae are released and go through multiple developmental phases. The length of these phases depends on water temperature and the availability of food.

Other facts about the common grass shrimp:

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