Kissing Rostrum petting in broad daylight was this brazen pair of commensal shrimps (probably Periclimenes brevicarpalis) on a small Stichodactyla mertensii anemone on the reef flat of Pulau Hantu. The actiniarian had most of its tentacles withdrawn as the water volume in its pool was barely sufficient to cover its bulbous body. So the clawsome couple were clinging to the edge of their host, waiting for the sea to renew its blue-green embrace. Prowling in the vicinity were a few Palaemonid shrimps that clambered onto the anemone as if encouraged by the presence of their cousins. But whereas the commensals can retreat into the tentacles without harm, the busy little bodies will probably become lunch (and leftovers for their relations) once they come into contact with the stinging cells.
On the smaller male shrimp, a bopyrid isopod can be seen on the left side of his carapace. Bopyrids are a family of parasitic crustaceans that live attached to the carapace or in the gill cavities of decapods (i.e. shrimps, crabs and lobsters), sucking their blood (haemolymph). No apparent harm is done to the host other than cosmetic disfigurement. The visible isopod is the female, while the male is a much tinier thing that lives between her abdominal limbs or pleopods. In turn, the Periclimenes are known to feed on their host, using their claws to clip off the tips of tentacles. The cheek of tenants these days...
The Circus of the Spineless #22 is up at the Bev's Burning Silo!
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