Zanzibar Whip Coral Shrimp

The Zanzibar whip coral shrimp (Dasycaris zanzibarica Bruce, 1973) is a small commensal shrimp of the family Palaemonidae. The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) lists the name as accepted. Florent's Guide To The Tropical Reefs gives a size of up to 1.5 cm.

SeaLifeBase shows its IUCN status as Not Evaluated.

SeaLifeBase describes a reef-associated species of the Indo-West Pacific, from Zanzibar to Japan, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia, at depths of 1 to 41 m. Florent's Guide To The Tropical Reefs gives 3 to 40 m. SeaLifeBase says it is hosted by Cirripathes sp.

Where Divers Find Them

At Nusa Penida, Bali, PADI's page for Ceningan Wall names Zanzibar shrimps there, and Dune Penida Dive Center lists Zanzibar shrimp at Crystal Bay. Neither gives a scientific name; this entry reads the name as this species.

SeaLifeBase describes it as epizoic, living on a host animal, from the intertidal to the subtidal.

Underwater Encounter Behavior

The sources cited here do not describe how this shrimp reacts to divers.