PORT PHILLIP BAY


Southern Hooded Shrimp 

Athanopsis australis Banner & Banner, 1982

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Pereopods 1-2 or more with epipods. Pleuron of abdominal somite 6 with an articulating posterior triangular plate. Rostrum well developed, with a broad vertical lamella ventrally, its tip broadly rounded, with supraorbital processes only. Carapace barely covering eyes. Chelipeds asymmetrical and sexually dimorphic, chelate and swollen in male, (unknown in female); large chela of male flexed against expanded merus, fingers without plunger and socket.

Source: Poore, G.C.B. (2004) Marine decapod Crustacea of southern Australia. A guide to identification (with chapter on Stomatopoda by Shane Ahyong). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 574 pp.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Subclass:
Eumalacostraca
Superorder:
Eucarida
Order:
Decapoda
Suborder:
Pleocyemata
Infraorder:
Caridea
Family:
Alpheidae
Genus:
Athanopsis
Species:
australis

General Description

Rostrum with tip developed as a laterally compressed lamella, a continuation of an obsolete dorsal carina, tip rounded in lateral view. Claw (chela) of male folded back against laterally expanded fourth segment (merus). Colour in life is translucent with red digestive gland apparent. Up to 2 cm long.

Biology

The Southern Hooded Shrimp is not a true snapping shrimp because the claw lacks the necessary pistol mechanism. Instead, the claw resembles a monkey wrench and folds back on itself. The shrimp is generally colourless except for a red patch on the body. The southern hooded shrimp is rare, living in sandy sediments about 8 m deep in Victoria. Few specimens of this species have ever been collected and it has never been observed alive.

Habitat

From reef and sandy sediment, to depth of 8 m.

Soft substrates

Coastal shores

Distribution guide

Southern temperate oceans, including Victoria.

Species Group

Prawns, shrimps, lobsters › Shrimps

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

2 cm

Diet

Organic matter

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Species Code

MoV 999

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Vulnerable
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author Taylor, J.

Dr. Jo Taylor is the Sciences Collections Online Coordinator at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Poore, G.C.B.

Dr. Gary Poore is Principal Curator Emeritus at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Taylor, J. & Poore, G.C.B., 2011, Southern Hooded Shrimp, Athanopsis australis, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 10 Jan 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/5508

Text: creative commons cc by licence