Discovery of a new species of white shrimp in the mouth of a whale shark Hiroshima University Research Group Oct 28, 4:37
It is known that creatures called “shrimp”, a crustacean companion with a hard shell, live in various places from high altitude mountains to the deep sea, but the research group at Hiroshima University is the largest in the world A new species of tiger shrimp that lives in the mouth of a whale shark, a fish, has been discovered, and the people concerned are surprised by the question, "Do you live in such a place?"
"Shrimp" is a creature classified as a crustacean close to Daphnia, and about 10,000 species have been confirmed so far.
It is often found in coasts and rivers, and is found in mountains at a height of several thousand meters and deep seabeds.
A group of associate professors Mitsuru Tomikawa of Hiroshima University, who is studying the ecology of leaf shrimp, discovered a new species of leaf shrimp that lives in the mouth of the world's largest fish, the whale shark, and named it “whale beetle”.
This new species of shrimp is about 5 mm long and has a lot of hair on its legs. It looks white when used as a specimen, but it is usually light brown.
The group was contacted by an aquarium in Okinawa that raised whale sharks, and found that it was a new species, so it stayed in the area of the gera in the mouth of the whale shark and was observing it. It means that the mouth is seen as a habitat because it has increased through breeding.
The group sees it living in the mouth with the plankton that the whale shark eats, eating organic matter that flows in an environment where it is difficult to encounter natural enemies.
According to the people concerned, there is a surprising voice saying that “the animals that live in the mouths of other creatures are not known except for some parasites”.
Associate Professor Mitsumi Tomikawa said, “I was very surprised when I found out that I was in my mouth. I realized the resilience of organisms again.”
Yoko shrimp inhabit the mountain soil and deep sea floor
Shrimp is a kind of crustacean that is close to daphnids, cardigans, and fungi, and has a length of several millimeters, but some are several tens of centimeters.
About 10,000 species have been confirmed so far, often seen on the coast and the bottom of rivers, inhabiting in the soil of mountains at an altitude of several thousand meters, deep sea bottom, cave where light does not reach Inhabit by adapting to various environments.
However, no shrimp inhabiting the mouth of another organism has been confirmed, and the group says that animals that have settled in the mouth of another species have never heard of anything other than some parasites. The
Associate professor Mitsumi Tomikawa said, “Spotted shrimps that are closely related to the new species of whales have the property of drifting in the sea, and the ones that came into the mouth of whale sharks evolved into the mouth. "I feel the strength of the creatures that live anywhere."