Opposum Shrimp general biology

[Opposum shrimp Biology]

[mysid drawing 1] Anatomy

The eyes of opossum shrimps are stalked and a carapace covers the head and most of the thorax. The legs are more adapted for swimming than walking and each has two branches. There is a long abdomen ending in a tail fan which stabilises the animal while it is swimming. The tail fan has a pair of statocysts, cavities containing a floating particle and acting as a balancing organ in much the way the cochlea does in the human ear.

Reproduction

Opossum shrimps are so-called because they carry their eggs and young in a marsupium-like pouch. The young which hatch from it are miniatures of the adults.

Ecology

Opossum shrimps are active swimmers, swarming just above the sea-floor. Most species are quite translucent except for small black chromatophores and the pair of black eyes. Filter-feeding from the microscopic plankton provides their main food but scavenging on carrion and micro-predation are also known.

Distribution

Mysids in Australia are exclusively marine but freshwater species exist in North America. Many species can be seen in shallow water, especially among seagrass beds, but only three are photographed here.

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Feedback and queries should be sent to the Discovery Centre at Museum Victoria.
Please note, the Discovery Centre can help you only with questions about crustaceans from southeastern Australia. It can not advise on the care of pet hermit crabs or on crustaceans from other regions.