Callianassa californiensis (Dana, 1854)
Also Known As:
The Bay Ghost Shrimp, and by fisherman as Bass yabbies
or one-armed bandits.
Common Misidentification: Callianassa californiensis is confused with the freshwater “Ghost Shrimp”, Palaeomonetes sp.,
mostly because of its related common name.
Scientific Taxonomic Classification:
Kingdom: Anamalia
Phyla: Arthropoda
Sub-Phylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Sub-Class: Eucarida
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Thalassinidea
Family:
Callianassidae
Specimen (Above) Collection Information: Collected at the Evergreen State College beach on the
mid-day of
Specimens Size: The size of Callianassa californiensis varies depending on
gender. Males are the longer, up to maximum of 10 or more centimeters in size,
where as females at maximum length can only be up to around 8 centimeters.
There are many accounts of varied maximum sizes seen both in male and female.
Specimens Habitat: Callianassa californiensis lives below the surface of the marine beach in
complexly shaped tunnels. Some shapes of the tunnels have been studied and for
examples of these systematic tunnels some scientists have used “ant farm”
techniques, allowing observation of the underwater tunnel system through glass
in a lab setting. Other ways of studying these vast undersurface wonders is by
injecting a plaster mold into the home of Callianassa
californiensis and then removing the dry plaster
mold from the sediment, leaving you the cast of the tunnel system. The shrimps
burrow carries much symbiosis with other organisms, while being a crucial
protection from predators. The symbiotic animals of a Callianassa
californiensis’s burrow include other crabs, worms, other shrimp, and even
clams.
Specimens Diet:
Callianassa californiensis ingests simple plankton, and silt (algae) deposits,
that are released when scrapping of sediment takes place during burrowing.
Specimens Special Characteristics: Callianassa californiensis has a transparent color with red, orange, and opaque
white iridescence in certain illumanatory settings. Additionally, the shrimp is
known for its one dominant chelicerae common to only males (seen above). These
shrimp are so versatile that Monterey Bay Aquarium states that they can live
for up to 6 whole days with out any oxygen.
Species Account Web Page Prepared By: Felix Nau
Date:
Two Pictures Taken By: Felix Nau
Related Links:
http://www.mov.vic.gov.au/crust/thalbiol.html
http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/living_species/default.asp?hOri=0&hab=3&inhab=456
http://fish.orbust.net/ghostshrimp.html
Species Classification Used From:
Marine Invertebrates of the Pacific
Northwest, Eugene N. Kozloff Univ of