Natural-born killer
LEMBEH, INDONESIAThis blue and white harlequin shrimp
was snapped by photographer Aldo
Costa, who spotted it while diving in
the waters off Lembeh, Indonesia.
The little crustaceans can grow
to about five centimetres in length,
and they live together as couples,
with one male and one female.
However, their beautiful appearance
belies predatory habits that would make
Bonnie and Clyde blush. The pair of
shrimp go hunting for starfish,
their main food source. Once they’ve
found one, they’ll work together
to overpower it and flip it on its back.
They’ll then start consuming its tube
feet, which are structures that the
starfish uses for locomotion. Sometimes,
they carry the unfortunate animal back
to their lair, to continue eating it alive
over a period of days or weeks.
Incredibly, the shrimp have been
recorded bringing food to the starfish,
to keep it alive for even longer.
The starfish underneath the shrimp
in this image had better make
its escape – quickly!Snapshots
| SNAPSHOTSNATUREPHOTO: ALDO COSTA