10/21/2026
Joining the elite group of spookily-named sea creatures, such as the vampire squid, zombie worm, goblin shark, and ghost crab, this week's featured creature wears its Halloween costume all year!
The aptly-named skeleton shrimp (Caprella spp.) is commonly found in S.C.'s coastal waters, and because of its small, slender, and opaque coloration, it blends in well with filamentous algae, bryozoans, and hydroids. Look closely at fouling communities on docks, pilons, or jetties, and you just might find some living there, too! These small crustaceans, considered to be amphipods, deftly use their back pair of legs to grasp onto surrounding substrates or plant and animal matter for stability. The front two claws are used for feeding on other amphipods, copepods, detritus, and other small organisms. To change locations, the skeleton shrimp positions itself horizontally and undergoes an arching-and-flattening movement much like that of an inchworm.
Interested in marine and environmental science and education? Check out our education newsletter, The Lettered Olive, for monthly featured species like this one, as well as information on resources and upcoming events for educators. Sign up at the link in our bio or by visiting www.scseagrant.org/the-lettered-olive/
Photo credit: sercfisheries/iNaturalist CC BY-NC.
