Subject:
A Clear Cleaner Shrimp (Urocaridella antonbruunii) is venturing onto a Yellowmouth Moray Eel’s (Gymnothorax nudivomer) chin, removing small items such as bits of dead skin, parasites, and mucus.
Clear Cleaner Shrimps have a quite transparent appearance—hence their name—compared to other cleaning shrimps that advertise their presence with bright colours. The purpose of this transparent camouflage is not fully understood, as it is very unlikely that cleaner shrimps end up as food for their hosts.
Transparency, probably one of the world’s best camouflage techniques, is an adaptation found in different animals, usually smaller aquatic species like jellyfish (although some jellyfish can be huge, it is only the smaller ones, such as Sea Wasps, that exhibit transparency), frogs, and, as in this post, shrimps.
Although these animals are transparent, either fully or partially, they are not invisible. Most animals are opaque, meaning light is either reflected (as in iridescent, mirror-like surfaces) or absorbed (resulting in a single colour or multiple colours). When an animal is transparent, light travels through it and, just like with water, scatters or bends slightly. For example, when we look at a glass of water, we can see through it, but we can still tell the difference between a full and an empty glass.
The Clear Cleaner Shrimp is only partially transparent; its walking legs (pereiopods) are banded in red and white, just like the many spots that cover its abdomen. Upon closer inspection, the internal organs of this small cleaner are also visible.
For the Yellowmouth Moray Eels in this short underwater videoclip, the transparency of the shrimp is irrelevant, as morays are known to have very poor eyesight and rely mostly on their sense of smell to locate food and prey. The gentle tickling of the shrimp’s pleopods (swimming legs), pereiopods (walking legs), claws (chela), and antennae on the moray’s skin usually identifies the little cleaner as a friend performing a very important job, not a foe trying to take advantage of the moray.
I am quite sure that the shrimp’s behaviour is directly recognised by the host as that of a cleaner shrimp, but the moray probably can’t distinguish which species of shrimp (Clear Cleaner Shrimp, Banded Coral Shrimp/Stenopus hispidus, or White-banded Cleaner Shrimp/Lysmata amboinensis) is doing the cleaning.
Cleaner stations, where shrimps like this one interact with a variety of marine species, are fascinating ecological hubs. These cleaning symbioses are vital for maintaining the health of reef ecosystems. By removing parasites and dead tissue, the shrimp not only benefits the host but also keeps the surrounding environment in balance.
The behaviour of cleaning shrimps extends beyond physical cleaning. Their distinct movements, such as rocking their bodies and waving their antennae, signal their readiness to clean to potential clients. This behavioural adaptation ensures that both parties can benefit without miscommunication leading to harm.
Technique:
To accentuate the enormous risks and danger the little shrimp faces, I opted for a somewhat eerie type of music. A single aspiration by the moray eel, and the cleaner would be history. I could have chosen a more subtle and frivolous tune, but I think that building suspense (even though nothing spectacular happens to the tiny shrimp) is a better way to retain viewers.
The music really provides a threatening mood in this short underwater videoclip.
Filming location:
This short underwater videoclip has been filmed in Mauritius 🇲🇺
Watch it on YouTube:
You can watch it directly on YouTube by clicking the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mhFhbAFsbY
More about this subject:
For more in-depth description about other interactions between the Clear Cleaner Shrimp and the Yellowmouth Moray Eel click following links:
vlog post145, Clear Cleaner Shrimp or click the following link https://www.beyondscuba.com/post/clear-cleaner-shrimp-urocaridella-antonbruunii
and
vlog post137 A few too many Clear Cleaner Shrimps or click the following link https://www.beyondscuba.com/post/a-few-too-many-clear-cleaner-shrimps-urocaridella-antonbruunii
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