Ancylomenes pedersoni

Identification: small and transparent, with bluish and violet markings on the body and claws and long white antennae; within its range it is unlikely to be confused with another species. Described in 1958 by F. A. Chace as Periclimenes pedersoni, it is now placed in the genus Ancylomenes; Periclimenes anthophilus is a synonym.

In the wild it lives in the tropical western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, including Bermuda, from 1 to 15 m (down to 35 m according to SeaLifeBase). It is associated with a sea anemone, Bartholomea annulata or Condylactis gigantea, moving among its tentacles without being stung: it gets used to them by gradually pressing its body against the tentacles, and must start again if separated for a few days. Up to 26 shrimp have been counted on one anemone, but there are usually one or two. Client fish stay still while it removes and eats their external parasites; fish recognise Bartholomea anemones as cleaning stations, and larger ones are visited more often. It sometimes cleans the same fish as a nearby neon goby.

Status: not evaluated by the IUCN and not listed by CITES. The sources consulted do not describe its reproduction.