Endemic predatory shrimp  (Procaris ascensionis)

Biology

The endemic predatory shrimp feeds on both plant matter and crustaceans, including amphipods (small, prawn-like species) and atyid shrimp (2). Individuals can often be observed moving through the algae, extending their pereiopods, apparently searching for prey (4).

Little is known about the reproductive biology or life history of these shrimp. A sex ratio of eight females to one male has been found, but the reason for this remains unknown. A single female bore approximately 60 large, bright orange eggs in a laboratory, but no egg-bearing females have been seen in the wild (2).

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