Picture Credit green Shrimp: Color Chen
The Hairy Shrimp (phycocaris simulans, left in the picture) is a very small shrimp and not much is known about it. But in Lembeh it can be seen on a regular basis. Over the last few months we have seen hairy shrimps in all colourations (white, yellow, red, beige, brown, green and even some blue ones).
But we also found some strange specimens of something … well something that kind of looks like a hairy shrimp. First we found the thick, green, smooth one (right side in the picture, picture by Color Chen) and we could not get a positive ID for it. We also got a message from a scientist, saying that it could be either a unknown variation of phycocaris simulans or possibly even a new phycocaris species.
Then we also found the one you can see in the middle of the picture, which also has the distinctive shape and movements of the phycocaris simulans but is neither smooth nor hairy but looks a little bit like a cluster of silt, mud and sand.
So we keep looking – who knows how many more phycocaris treasures are out there …
