Skeleton Shrimp

Caprella spp.

Skeleton shrimps are tiny, gangly amphipods with thread-like bodies.

• Usually transparent, but can sometimes be tan, brownish or reddish in color.
• Free front legs are folded together, much like a praying mantis's.
• Rear legs are hooked and grasping.
• Grow to about one-half of an inch to 2 inches long.

Where do skeleton shrimps live?

Skeleton shrimps can be found in the middle to lower Bay, attached to hydroids, sponges, bryozoans and other animals that live on rocks, buoys and pilings.

What do skeleton shrimps eat?

Skeleton shrimps feed on copepods and bits of algae and detritus, which they grab with their free front legs.

How do skeleton shrimps reproduce?

Skeleton shrimps reproduce sexually by internal fertilization.

• Large, transparent pouches of eggs attach to the female's abdomen.
• After hatching, larvae attach to hydroids, algae or other vegetation.
• Females of some species of skeleton shrimps are said to kill the males after mating by injecting them with venom from a poisonous claw.

Other facts about skeleton shrimps:

• Movement is similar to that of an inchworm.
• Their delicate, skeleton-like bodies help the shrimps blend in with hydroids, bryozoans, seaweeds and other bushy plants and animals.