Prawn from Larnaka/Cyprus

Hi!

Doing snorkeling at Larnaka in front of the Palm Beach Hotel I found in very shallow water these prawns On a first glaze someone would say it is Palaemon elegans what elese since these prawns are very common throughout the Mediterranean Sea.

But there are several aspects that make me wonder:

1. Palemon elegans has usually a different opaqueness, in fact they are more opaque then my critters here.
   
2. Most of these prawns where found near some sea weed on sandy bottom instead of rocks or rock pools.
   
3. The common blue bands on the claws and legs are missing or nearly invisible.
   
4. They moved much faster and came in flocks to clean my skin. Usually I am about to catch Palaemon elegans by hand but no change here.
   

So here are the Pictures: Pictures 1 to 3 the Palaemons in question. Picture 4 shows the typical Palaemon elegans. My guess is if they are not Palaemon elegans whether it is a Palaemon introduced through the Suez Channel from the Read Sea, perhaps Palemon pacificus?

All pictures are done with a Canon G9.

In Debelius' Crustacea of the World, there is a match to Palaemon serratus.

Cheers,

Marli

In Debelius' Crustacea of the World, there is a match to Palaemon serratus.

 

Cheers,

Marli

Hallo!

I do not think that my critter is Palaemon serratus because P. serratus shows a distinct upcurved rostrum. Both attached pictures show most likely this species. The pictures are taken at Paphos/Cyprus near Coral Bay.

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Helmut Carl Simak