First live photos of rare Sawtooth Arrow Shrimp

[carol202]

I was just told that I may have the first photos of a rare shrimp taken in their natural habitat. For verification, I had to collect one of these shrimp and send it to a marine biologist for a positive identification. I did, and was told I have photos of Tozeuma serratum, also known as a Serrate Arrow Shrimp or Sawtooth Arrow Shrimp. One of the photos is posted here. Others are in a PBASE gallery at http://www.pbase.com/carol202/shrimp.

[scotty51]

Awesome, where was that at ?

[akeigher]

now that could have won the "unreplicable" photo contest from two weeks ago!

nice find.

[carol202]

Thanks for viewing and taking time to comment.

Scott, I have photographed the shrimp at four differnet sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Primarily I dive out of Mexico Beach, Florida, a tiny little coastal town that hasn't been overly developed like much of Florida's coastal areas. The shrimp are fairly deep at 80 feet or below.

Aaron, I thought about the replication competition, but to be honest the shot can be replicated. First, there are similar arrow shrimp in places like Indonesia that have already been photographed. It was sheer luck that I saw the first one, Now I can locate them because I know what to look for. I find them often enough that the marine biologist is planning a visit to go shrimp hunting with me. I guess the shrimp have been overlooked because they are small and blend in with their host gorgonian.

Carol