Shrimp
They are small sea animals that live on the floor of
oceans and lakes. Worldwide, there are over 2,000
different species of shrimp. Shrimp have a hard
exoskeleton.
Body:
Shrimp
length changes from fraction of an inch to 9 inches and
has a thin, smooth, hard, and almost transparent
exoskeleton. They vary extensively in color; tropical
varieties are often brilliantly colored. Shrimp have 5
pairs of jointed walking legs on the thorax, and they
have 5 pairs of swimming legs and 3 pairs of maxillae on
the abdomen. The body, legs, swimmerets, and other
appendages are segmented. Shrimp have two pairs of
segmented sensory antennae, a tail fan, and compound
eyes.
Foot:
Shrimp
are omnivores; they eat plants and small animals. The
strange pistol shrimp kills or stuns its prey by making
a very noisy sound with a huge claw with a portable,
snapping appendage.
Life Cycle:
Female
shrimp lay over a thousand eggs, which are attached to
her swimming legs. The shrimp appear as tiny, floating
organisms, a component of
zooplankton. After rising,
they go under the bottom, where they will live. As a
shrimp grows, it often loses its old shell and growing a
new one.
Predators:
Shrimp
are eaten by many animals, including many
fish, many birds (including
flamingos and loons), octopi, squid,
cuttlefish, and people.
Class:
Kingdom Animalia, Phylum
Arthropoda, Class Crustacea (crustaceans),
Subclass Malacostraca, Order Decapoda, Suborder Natantia.
