Sterrer’s cave shrimp  (Parhippolyte sterreri)

Classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List 2006 (1).

This is a large, bright red shrimp with characteristic white bands on its leg joints and three white spots on its tail (2).

Recorded from Bermuda, Mexico and the Bahaman Islands of Exuma Cays, Andros and Grand Bahama (2).

Found in inland anchialine caves in Bermuda and ocean blue holes and caves in the Bahamas and Yucatan, Mexico (2).

A female specimen collected carried an estimated 2,000 tiny eggs. The small size of these eggs would suggest a relatively long planktonic larval stage (2). Nothing else is known of this species’ biology.

The threats to this species are unknown.

There are currently no conservation measures underway targeting this species.

For more information on Sterrer’s cave shrimp see:

• Anchialine Caves and Cave Fauna of the World:
  http://www.tamug.edu/cavebiology/fauna/shrimp/P_sterreri.html

• Anchialine: coastal bodies of standing waters that have no surface connections to them ocean but display both tidal fluctuations and salinity ranges characteristic of fresh and brackish waters, indicating the presence of subsurface connections to the watertable and ocean.
• Planktonic: referring to microscopic aquatic organisms that passively float in open water.

1. IUCN Red List (January, 2007)
   http://www.iucnredlist.org
2. Anchialine Caves and Cave Fauna of the World (February, 2007)
   http://www.tamug.edu/cavebiology/fauna/shrimp/P_sterreri.html