Subject:
The Yellow-Spotted Anemone Shrimp (Ancylomenes luteomaculatus) is a small cleaner shrimp associated with anemones and tube-anemones of the Indo-Pacific region.
The specimen filmed in this short underwater videoclip is sitting on a rock encrusted with overgrown sponges in the vicinity of a carpet anemone (Stichodactyla sp.), most probably the shrimp’s host.
This anemone shrimp was previously classified in the Periclimenes genus, but recent studies and findings (2010) have placed this shrimp into a new genus: Ancylomenes. Thus, it is very likely that this species is named differently in older books and field guides.
This beautiful little shrimp can reach a total length of 2.5 cm (1 inch) (excluding the antennae). It is characterised by a transparent body with dark yellow to golden, and sometimes orange to reddish patches on both sides. It has orange and white saddle markings on its abdominal hump and white claw arms with beautiful purple banding. The tail, consisting of two uropods separated by the telson, is white. Each uropod has a very distinctive purple spot.
Transparency in shrimps is relatively common. Whole-body transparency is a very effective and efficient camouflage technique for many aquatic species. Shrimps, jellyfish, and some fish species use transparency to avoid predation. By looking like water in water, one is nearly invisible. However, to stay completely transparent, these aquatic animals may need to limit exercise or other forms of physiological stress, as muscle movement (the abdomen of a shrimp is muscle tissue) and high energy often change the internal ultrastructure of the animal, thus increasing light scattering. This results in opacity, and the shrimp may turn cloudy or milky, losing its near-perfect camouflage ability and becoming vulnerable to predation.
Technique:
Filming an animal from the rear is usually bad practice. This Yellow-Spotted Anemone Shrimp was impossible to film from any other side, as rocks and corals blocked any other possible camera position. In Mauritius, this shrimp species is not very often encountered, and therefore I opted to film it anyway. Usually, when an animal is uncooperative or in the wrong position, I prefer to leave it and search for another, easier-to-film subject.
Images, like photographs and videos, can easily be manipulated to ensure a more favourable end result. It usually happens in a very subtle way and is easily overlooked or missed by the viewer. This underwater video was only 12 seconds in length, but by cutting out a small fraction (+/- 2 seconds) of the footage and inserting it twice into the edited videoclip, I created a longer video. At first sight, it is nearly impossible to notice this, but by replaying this short underwater videoclip, the transition between the different parts can be seen by the sharp-eyed and attentive spectator. Did you notice it?
To make the shrimp stand out against the sandy background, I combined two different techniques. First, I added a subtle vignette to draw the eye to the center of the screen, and secondly, I sharpened the area a little bit where the shrimp is situated.
The dancing moves of this Yellow-Spotted Anemone Shrimp demanded energetic, exotic background music. Cuban-style mambo music was my preferred choice. However, other Latin American style music like rumba, samba, or merengue would have done equally well.
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=zmZVk3wvrzg
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