bubble coral shrimps

Hey guys !

actually I am not posting photos but searching photos !! I think this is the most appropriate section, maybe we should create another "sub-forum" (Photo search) ?

the story is: we're describing a new species of the pontoniine shrimp genus Vir, most of you know these guys as "bubble coral shrimps"

first, it looks like they also live on pocilloporid and fungiid corals, so if somebody has a photo of what looks like Vir on a branching or solitary coral, please let me know !!

second, I try to determine the range of the most familiar species, V. philippinensis; in the literature it's only W Pacific, and here and there in the Indian Ocean, but I have seen a few lousy pictures from the Seychelles and Red Sea, maybe somobody has good pictures in situ from these locations ? what about Fiji or New Caledonia ?

all photos we'll use in the colour plate (contrasting the different patterns of Vir species), will be acknowledged, of course !

cheerio

Art

Like this? Wakatob, Indonesia

Karl

Hi Art,

First, I don't think I have any Vir shots that would interest you; mine are all from Indonesia or Thailand and in bubble coral.

However, I hope that since you are studying this species, you might be able to tell me if this shrimp that I shot in Thailand is a color variation of V. phillippinensis, or if it's V. orientalis, or perhaps something else? I have been trying to find this out for a while. I'd not seen this stripe color before.

Here 'tis (sorry about the size - is there any way to specify image size in these BB code tags??):

Thanks!

Hi Karl and Linda

Karl: could you send me a higher resolution jpg ? we could use this photo for the colour plate

my email: artour_a@yahoo.com

looks like an undescribed species very close to Vir colemani

in V. colemani (described last year) there are purple spots but no stripes

Linda: your guy is undescribed, too ! was illustrated as Vir sp in a Japanese guide, but the pattern is different from our new species

a higher resolution photo much appreciated ! (see email above), and will be used, too

we don't really know the pattern of V. orientalis, but this one lives mostly on branching corals

THANKS A LOT GUYS !!!

cheers

Art

Linda

I am also interested in your photos from Thailand, seems there are no reports of Vir spp from there

thanks

Art

Art, I e-mailed you a full size Jpeg file of the image above....please let me know if you get it...

Karl

Art. Do you know either of these? The first one looks like Linda's.

The second one completly different. Both are from GBR

From 3/18/2005 on the South side of Okinawa.

This shows up in most of the UW guide books as Achaeus japonicus, the orangutan crab, but according to the japanese books (& to Art) it's actually an undescribed species of Oncinopus.

Leslie

Hi

many thanks for the spectacular photos !

yes, the first is Vir sp. (undescribed), possibly the same as Linda's

the second is a species from Periclimenes ornatus complex

as Leslie said it lacks the white stripe between the eyes, typical to P. ornatus, and also has spots on the abdomen (P. ornatus doesn't)

I will send your photo to a Periclimenes expert, will see what he says

cheerio

Art

PS do you have photos of snapping shrimps ?

Actually, i only have one snapping shrimp. But it's not in a bubble coral if thats what you were looking for.

I dont think this is a snapping shrimp (and I know it's not a bubble coral shrimp) but this guy is very cool and I'm sure you dont have a picture of him. I have no clue what he is....

Oh, and if you couldnt tell, my bubble coral shrimp shots are in Physogyra as opposed to Karl and Linda's which look more like Plerogyra?

Your spotted Tridacna shrimp showed up on another forum recently where it was tentatively id'ed by Art as Anchistus or Paranchistus. Your pictures are great - I couldn't find any other images of this shrimp actually living on a clam. http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=611629&

The snapping shrimp is Alpheus randalli living with the recently described goby Stonogobiops yasha.

Yeah - go reefs.org!

Cheers

James

This is very timely; I was touching up a few sand specks on wide angle shot of a giant clam on the GBR, and when I zoomed in to check my sharpening...there was the outline of just such a shrimp. Of course, with a 15mm lens, it was puny, so no point posting it.

Great looking animal! I'll be on the lookout this summer! I'm curious...with the enlarged claw, why it would be considered a Periclimenes???

Cheers,

Marli

Ooops, didn't see the newest ID.

Cheers,

Marli

Hi,

Anilao, Phillipine using my F100.

buenos dias !

yep, it's a pontoniine shrimp, most likely Anschistus custos or A. miersi (there are 7 species in this genus, ID possible only under the dissecting microscope)

re A. randalli and S. yasha: what is the locality ?

cheers

Art

Location = Kentucky.

Hi,

Sorry I did not comeback here often. Locality of the shrimp in my picture , as I already written, is Bazura point, Anilao (2 hrs dr. from Manila) , Phillipine.

Hope it helped.

Sam