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- ›Palaemonoidea
palaemonid shrimps
Palaemonidae
Palaemonidae is a family of shrimp in the order Decapoda. Many species are carnivores that eat small invertebrates, and can be found in any aquatic habitat except the deep sea. One significant genus is Macrobrachium, which contains commercially fished species. Others inhabit coral reefs, where they associate with certain invertebrates, such as sponges, cnidarians, mollusks, and echinoderms, as cleaner shrimps, parasites, or commensals. They generally feed on detritus, though some are carnivores and hunt tiny animals.
The family contains more than 1200 species in 160 genera. The genera were formerly split into two subfamilies, but in 2015, molecular and morphological research determined that the subfamily groupings were invalid. At the same time, the members of the families Gnathophyllidae and Hymenoceridae were incorporated into the Palaemonidae.
60 branches of this family, most-observed first
Glass Shrimps
genusPalaemon
River Prawns
genusMacrobrachium
Anemone Shrimps
genusAncylomenes
Ancylocaris
genusAncylocaris
Periclimenes
genusPericlimenes
Zenopontonia
genusZenopontonia
Cuapetes
genusCuapetes
Gnathophyllum
genusGnathophyllum
Pontonides
genusPontonides
Palaemonella
genusPalaemonella
Harlequin Shrimps
genusHymenocera
Leander
genusLeander
Laomenes
genusLaomenes
Urocaridella
genusUrocaridella
Phyllognathia
genusPhyllognathia
Dasycaris
genusDasycaris
Manipontonia
genusManipontonia
Brachycarpus
genusBrachycarpus
Hamodactylus
genusHamodactylus
Hamopontonia
genusHamopontonia
Harpiliopsis
genusHarpiliopsis
Creaseria
genusCreaseria
Stegopontonia
genusStegopontonia
Pliopontonia
genusPliopontonia
Tuleariocaris
genusTuleariocaris
Coralliocaris
genusCoralliocaris
Rapipontonia
genusRapipontonia
Periclimenaeus
genusPericlimenaeus
Actinimenes
genusActinimenes
Gnathophylloides
genusGnathophylloides
Odontonia
genusOdontonia
Balssia
genusBalssia
Pontonia
genusPontonia
Thaumastocaris
genusThaumastocaris
Allopontonia
genusAllopontonia
Periclimenella
genusPericlimenella
Lipkemenes
genusLipkemenes
Pseudopontonides
genusPseudopontonides
Philarius
genusPhilarius
Metapontonia
genusMetapontonia
Exoclimenella
genusExoclimenella
Conchodytes
genusConchodytes
Izucaris
genusIzucaris
Isopontonia
genusIsopontonia
Cristimenes
genusCristimenes
Phycomenes
genusPhycomenes
Pontoniopsis
genusPontoniopsis
Dactylonia
genusDactylonia
Brucecaris
genusBrucecaris
Harpilius
genusHarpilius
Araiopontonia
genusAraiopontonia
Levicaris
genusLevicaris
Leptomenaeus
genusLeptomenaeus
Jocaste
genusJocaste
Nematopalaemon
genusNematopalaemon
Leptocarpus
genusLeptocarpus
Typton
genusTypton
Onycocaris
genusOnycocaris
Ischnopontonia
genusIschnopontonia
Ascidonia
genusAscidonia
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Palaemonidae in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 50928.