# Anyone know the proper name for this shrimp ?



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

While I was looking at some pics online, including some of the ones I posted earlier, I discovered some of the shrimp I have always known as Atyopsis moluccensis, but they were labeled as Atya moluccensis.

I have shrimp I have always known as Atyopsis moluccensis, commonly known as Bamboo, Wood or Flower Fan shrimp. I also have another Atyopsis species, A. spinipes. This species is sometimes seen in the trade with the name Golden Fan shrimp. They could easily be mistaken for a young specimen of the much larger A. moluccensis, as they have the very same back and body striping, same overall body shape and in general the same colouration. The main difference I see is that Golden Fans in my experience never get that dark brown 'driftwood' body colour that moluccensis does. Unless they are positioned so that quite bright back stripe is showing, they can literally vanish against wood, so it's amazing camouflage for them. I've had some moluccensis who arrived sporting a very pale cream or green background body colour, but most darkened to the driftwood shade that gives them the name wood shrimp.

Then recently I got more A. spinipes, but wild caught. They are very similar to the Golden Fans in having that back stripe, same size, and some horizontal body striping, though some might not have any body stripes.. it is hard to see them all of course. Their fans are very tiny, almost invisible to my unassisted eye, and they're much more active than the Golden Fans or moluccensis tend to be. They're also much lighter in background body colour, very pale, with some variation in the overall shades. One of the shrimp in this group turned out to be a Golden Fan type, which leads me to think the Golden Fan is a natural colour variation of the wild shrimp, rather than man selected.

Because A. spinipes Golden Fan is virtually identical to moluccensis, and the wild ones also share many characteristics, it makes sense to me that the name should be the same, thus Atyopsis moluccensis, rather than Atya moluccensis.

The only shrimp I am familiar with under the name Atya is Atya gabonensis, aka Giant African Filter shrimp, African Filter shrimp or my personal fave, Vampire shrimp. They have fans and filter feed, and also share the sexual differences that Atyopsis have, where males have a much thicker, heavier pair of front legs than do females. Females have legs all the same thickness and usually a bit thinner than their male counterparts, but the difference in the front legs of males can be seen from a very young age, becoming extremely pronounced when they mature.

Gabonensis does not have any body stripes in either orientation, no back stripe, and is very different in colour, being typically some shade of blue, through grey, even white. The front legs are much heavier, having a different shape and a number of bristles or other bumpy looking structures on the legs. They also have an overall appearance of being heavily armoured, and remind me quite a bit of an armadillo. Moluccensis and spinipes have much thinner, lighter looking exoskeletons, and don't give this armoured impression.

I am no expert in the study of classification of animals, but going on what I can observe of the exterior appearances, Atya gabonensis is probably related to Atyopsis species, but not so closely that they would both be from same family. But I don't know if new research has been done, which often results in animals or plants being reclassified.

So if anyone knows whether Atyopsis is the correct name for A. moluccensis, I'd appreciate knowing. If it turns out Atya is correct, fine, I'd just like to know which is accepted as being correct at this time.


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