Banded coral shrimp

The banded coral shrimp is a small red and white shrimp that is quite interesting to watch, in the wild or in an aquarium.  They resemble miniature lobsters with large front claws brightly striped in red and white.  I recently had the opportunity to view one in a salt water aquarium.  It is on the lower right in front of the rock column.

banded coral shrimp with clownfish.

Here are two illustrations of the shrimp from the book Marine Fauna and Flora of Bermuda, published by Wiley Interscience.  One is a color photograph. the other is a pen and ink illustration I did while working as a scientific illustrator in Bermuda in 1977.   Click on any image to enlarge.

To see other illustrations of shells done for the same book, check the traditional portfolio link under the digital art tab.

illustration of shrimp

banded coral shrimp
(upper center)

While drawing the shrimp I had a live specimen in a shallow petri dish of salt water.  I happened to notice a loose piece of skin on a finger and pulled off a hangnail and tossed it into the dish.  The shrimp snatched it up and gobbled it down like candy.  Who knew, to shrimp, human is a delicacy!