Baltic shrimp
Palaemon adspersus
Special features
Small but powerful: Baltic prawns are one of the maritime super-survivalists who can make themselves comfortable in brackish water.
Appearance
This beautiful little creature only grows up to 8 cm.
Its body is transparent or slightly greyish or yellowish and decorated with red horizontal stripes and yellow dots.
The legs, on the other hand, are only slightly or not at all patterned.
Its long forehead horn (rostrum), which is serrated at the sides and often has pigment spots in the lower half, is noticeable.
Natural enemies
Fish, crabs
Dangerous/venomous
Baltic rock shrimp is neither dangerous nor venomous.
Sketch
1. Tiny little claws
2. Large, serrated rostrum
3. Red horizontal stripes, yellow dots
4. Retracted or tightened last limb
5. Pale patterned legs
Pro tips
Surprisingly, Baltic prawns feel particularly at home in lagoons and brackish water. But this invisible beastie also likes to sneak around in seagrass meadows.
By the way, “Baltic” refers to the Baltic Sea region, and in fact, this shrimp is common there, but it is now also present throughout the Mediterranean and on the northern coast of Norway.
Text: Carolina Leiter
Pic: Felician Hosp, Sabine Probst
Illustration: Dive Dict
