Discovered by scientists in 1852, Herlequin shrimp have attractive colors and attractive appearance. They are considered “killers” of starfish under coral reefs because of their ability to destroy prey. much larger than their bodies.
Herlequin shrimp have the scientific name Hymenocera figa, they are saltwater shrimp found on coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Their preferred environmental temperature is from 22 – 25 o C.
The body of the Herlequin shrimp is only about 5 cm long. This species of shrimp usually lives in pairs, one male and one female. Males are usually slightly smaller than females. On the shrimp’s head there are two very large claws, but they are not used for hunting.
They have white bodies with large light green spots. Some researchers divide Herlequin shrimp into two species: H. colla and H. elegans.
H. colla species lives mainly in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, its body has dark pink-purple spots with yellow edges.
H. elegans lives in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, and its body has browner spots and blue edges.
Their food is mainly starfish, including crown-of-thorns starfish. Usually they like to eat small, sedentary starfish. However, because small starfish have little nutrition, Herlequin shrimp also attack Acanthaster sea stars (the second largest starfish in the world, after sunflower starfish).
The feeding behavior of Herlequin shrimp is said to be “barbaric” because they attack starfish and eat the soft tissues and tube feet of sea stars slowly. Attacked starfish will suffer pain for several weeks, even months. Some Harlequin shrimp also feed their prey to regenerate damaged parts and prolong their lifespan. Therefore, a captured starfish can maintain a food source for a pair of Harlequin shrimp for a long time. Therefore, Harlequin shrimps are not a threat to sea stars under coral reefs.
Female Harlequin shrimp will reproduce after molting. During one breeding season, a female can lay from 100 to 5,000 eggs. Despite the large reproduction number, with the beauty of this shrimp species, the risk of extinction is very high because human exploitation for ornamental purposes is increasing. In addition, human activities and production also pollute the environment, damage coral reefs, and risk losing shrimp habitat.
