Sandy snapping shrimp

Scientific name : Alpheus sp.

Almost uniform sandy grey colour. Orange-yellow legs and claws with white spots and stripes. Saddle shaped white blotches on the abdomen. 5 cm. A. sp. belongs to the A. brevirostris species complex, including Alpheus randalli, Alpheus ochrostriatus, Alpheus djeddensis, Alpheus bellus, Alpheus rubromaculatus (species included in this website). All species are quite similar, the sandy grey colour, the white saddles and the white spots on the claws are diagnostics.
Communication between goby and shrimp is mainly tactile. The shrimp always keeps in touch with the fish, with an antenna touching the side. A body vibration is the warning signal.

Associated organisms
This species lives in symbiosis with a goby. The shrimp, almost blind, digs a large burrow and hosts the goby. In change the fish alerts it of potential predators approaching.
We observed A. sp. (and only this species) associated with the goby Amblyeleotris randalli.