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What is this Bubble Coral Shrimp doing?

by Tom Reynolds
This is a subsee diopter shot of a Bubble Coral Shrimp. It was taken with a Nikon Af-105-vr lens and a subsee +10 diopter. The shot is full frame. The question is: What is the pile of stuff that the shrimp is holding? According to my wife, who was holding a flashlight on the subject, the shrimp was turning the mass excessively. Some say it was eggs but then what about the "eggs" on the back? Some say the shrimp was herding babies. One creative idea is that this is what is left over after the babies hatch. The authors idea is that this is stuff that the shrimp cleaned off the bubble coral. This was also the best guess of a curator at the LA Museum of Natural History who said that the "eggs" on the back was actually some kind of organ (the name was unprounceable). Your guess is as good as any. The Bubble Coral Shrimp has a limited range to locations around the Philippine Islands. They are relatively common at Wakatobi. However, a subsee shot was a bit difficult. This was the highest magnification of this critter anyone could remember.
Location: Wakatobi, Indonesia
Category: Macro

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