Donald Duck Shrimp

Description

Leander plumosus is a small shrimp up to 3 cm in length.
Its body is orange to light brown with some longitudinal white lines. The abdomen is sharply bent, and at this elbow is a clear area speckled with brown, with raised bristles. Another speckled area is present at the beginning of the tail. The telson is orange in color, as are the uropods, each with an outer dark ocelle.
The rostrum spiny is very long and bristly with silks, especially on its lower part. It presents a more or less marked alternation of white and red zones. The antennas bear long, antenna-shaped scales in the form of blades, of the same size as the rostrum and situated just below. It is all of these scales and the hairy rostrum which reminds of a duckbill and which gave the common name of this shrimp. The flagella of antennas and antennules are fine and translucent.

The legs (or pereiopods) are very thin and transparent. The second pair of legs is longer than the first. These two pairs end with a small clip. The eyes are big and worn on each side of the head.

Distribution

Indo-West Tropical Pacific from the Maldives to Malaysia, Indonesia (Komodo, Lembeh, Alor ...), the Philippines, Guam, Fiji, the Mariana Islands, southern Japan and New Caledonia. It would also be present in the Red Sea.

Habitat

Leander plumosus occurs in coral reefs, detrital zones, seagrass beds, and algal bottoms of the surface at about 20 m depth. It is also found in sandy areas with some stones, corals or sponges to hide. It also likes bouquets of hydraires. Without being cavernous, it likes cracks and holes.