Crevette de Thor, Squat anemone shrimp, sexy shrimp, Thor shrimp, Amboin shrimp, humpbacked shrimp, Thor-Garnele, Holzkreuz-Garnele, Buckelgarnele, Camaron Thor, Sexy anemone shrimp, sexy cleaner shrimp, pikmin shrimp, anemone shrimp, high tailed shrimp, dancing cleaner shrimp, squat shrimp, squat cleaner shrimp, hula shrimp, humpback shrimp, dancing shrimp.

Clef d'identification
Crevette de petite taille. 3 taches blanches en forme de selle. Points blancs sur les côtés et sur la queue. Abdomen redressé

Distribution
Commune en Floride, Bahamas et Caraïbes. Egalement commune dans le domaine Indo-Pacifique, d'où l'hypothèse que c'est une espèce relique de l'ancienne mer Téthys de l'ère Secondaire.

Biotope
Elle vit entre 1 et 30 mètres le plus souvent cachée parmi les tentacules urticants des anémones. Pour la voir il faut chercher sous le panache tentaculaire des anémones hôtes, près du pédoncule.

Description
Crevette de 0,5 à 2 cm de long, le corps brun gris ou verdâtre porte 3 taches blanches en forme de selle et plusieurs points blancs sur les côtés et sur la queue. Les antennes sont courtes et rayées. Les yeux sont saillants de chaque côté de la tête. L'abdomen est redressé avec un mouvement de balancier de la queue.

Espèces ressemblantes
Dans le domaine Indo Pacifique il y a un risque de confusion avec Periclimenes brevicarpalis, dont le motif de coloration est assez voisin. Cependant, l'attitude caractéristique de la crevette Thor, ainsi que l'absence de taches foncées sur la queue permettent de la distinguer avec un peu d'attention.

Origine du nom français
Porte le nom du genre.

Origine du nom scientifique
Thor : (Mythologie scandinave) Dieu du tonnerre, toujours armé d'un marteau.
amboinensis : vient d'Amboine, ex-capitale des Moluques en Indonésie.

Alimentation
Elle se nourrit des restes de nourriture de l'anémone avec laquelle elle vit.

Vie associée
Elle vit en association avec plusieurs anémones : anémone élégante (Actinoporus elegans), anémone soleil (Stichodactyla helianthus), anémone géante (Condylactis gigantea), dans lesquelles elle trouve refuge à la moindre alerte.

Informations complémentaires
Elles vivent souvent à plusieurs dans la même anémone. Difficiles à distinguer en raison de leur petite taille et de leur mimétisme, on les repère à leur déplacement rapide entre les tentacules de l'anémone.

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Thor amboinensis is a species of shrimp found across the Indo-West Pacific and in parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It lives on corals, sea anemones and other animals in shallow reef communities.

The sex of Thor can easily be determined with a few easy steps: 1st Check the size. Females are noticeably larger than then the males, this is the case with many sea creatures and the sexy shrimp is not excluded. Look for nursing capabilities. If you are able to observe the abdomen area you will see that females have extensions that protrude from the sides. These are located on both sides of the abdomen and are used to keep their eggs in place and also for protection.

The scientific name for “sexy shrimp” is Thor amboinensis. Thor, as in the Norse God of Thunder, and amboinensis, “inensis” means “of”, so the literal translation of the scientific name would be Norse Thunder God of Ambon Island.

They are also called: Sexy anemone shrimp, sexy cleaner shrimp, pikmin shrimp, anemone shrimp, high tailed shrimp, dancing cleaner shrimp, squat shrimp, squat cleaner shrimp, hula shrimp, humpback shrimp, dancing shrimp and simply sexy. But the first original name given is the squat anemone shrimp and Ambon shrimp after the Indonesian island where it was first documented by De Man in 1888. Sexy Shrimp is the most popular name for these little guys because of the way they move their tails as if they were dancing.

Sexy shrimp are small in size and remain small throughout their lives, ranging in size from 0.5 to 2 cm. Their small size and passive character has made them one of the most popular shrimp in the trade.

They are a semi-translucent pinkish-brown-orange in color with white spots and bands, 2-3 spots are generally found towards head and abdomen while 5-8 broken and solid stripes are found towards the tail, these are usually outlined in blue. There colors do not fade but may change slightly.

The head of the shrimp is connected to the thorax and covered by a strong protective shell called a carapace. The abdomen and tail typically arch upward toward the head. Two pair of antennae are found extending out from the (the dorsal/front section) carapace, they range in size from ¼” to about 1 ¼” same measurement as their length, these serve as probes to touch, poke and feel their way out of danger or calculate the size of nooks and cranny's. Two short stalked eyes are found towards the front of the carapace and just behind the rostrum, the rostrum is the foremost extension of the carapace. They have five pairs of thin jointed walking legs equipped with pincers for gripping, probing and feeding. Multiple abdominal segments are found towards the main body, this is the overlapping area which makes it possible for the sexy shrimp to dance. Underneath the abdominal segment you will find five pairs of swimming legs, these are paddle like legs that assist the shrimp in swimming and fast getaways. Towards the rear is the telson and the uropods, they are the fanlike structure at the tail, together they are used for steering while swimming. By contracting and retracting the abdominal segment, activating the swimming legs and fanning their uropods they can reach unbelievable speeds making it difficult to catch one by hand. The combination of these tandem movements is called the caridoid escape reaction . This reaction allows the sexy shrimp to escape danger via powerful swimming strokes, thrusting the shrimp through the water and away from any potential danger. The entire sexy shrimp is covered by an exoskeleton except for the eyes. The external skeleton protects and supports the body which size is predetermined during its larval stage. Molting is the process in which shedding/removal of the exoskeleton takes part and they grow a new exoskeleton creating a perfect fit to their new size.

Read more about molting in the wild tab or aquarium tab. The lifespan of the sexy shrimp is about 5 years, with the average at around 3.5 years. For aquarium conditions, hosting, behavior, aquarium setup, acclimation, breeding, diet, tankmates, ect.. please vist the aquarium tab. For natural habitat info, range, diet please visit wild tab.