Whitestripe Urchin Shrimp (Stegopontonia commensalis) — Habitat, Photos

Q: Where can you find Whitestripe Urchin Shrimp?

Whitestripe Urchin Shrimp can be found in: Laccadive Islands, Marshall Islands, Malaysia West, Hawaii, India West, Israel, Vietnam, Indo-Pacific, Chagos Islands, Red Sea, Solomon Islands, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bali, USA, Saudi Arabia West, Malaysia East, Somalia East, USA West, Japan South, India East, Thailand West, Israel South, Somalia North, Australia East, Egypt East, Australia, Philippines, Japan, New Caledonia, Thailand, Micronesia, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Maldives, Vanuatu, China, Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar, Seychelles, Myanmar, Kenya, Somalia, Comoros, Mascarene Islands, Egypt, Djibouti, Jordan, Eritrea, Sudan, Polynesia.

Stegopontonia commensalis is a species of shrimp (decapod crustaceans) of the family Palaemonidae, the only representative of the genus Stegopontonia.

Description They are very small shrimps of elongated and fusiform shape, the size of which does not exceed 3 cm long. They are longitudinally streaked with dark purple and white, imitating the quills of their host, the ends being slightly lighter.

This shrimp is a commensal symbiote of large venomous sea urchins of the genera Diadema, Echinothrix and Astropyga.

Habitat and distribution This species is found at shallow depths in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, where it follows the distribution of its hosts.

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