Curious Crustaceans of the Federated States of Micronesia

This photo album was created by Science Communication Fellows Alice Chou and Amanda Dedicatoria.

Crustaceans! Common, yet enigmatic. Skittish, but will stand strong when confronted directly. Such are the shrimp, amphipods, and hermit crabs (among many others) of our world. 

The common sentiment that crustaceans are “bugs of the sea” is not entirely correct. Although modern crustaceans and insects share characteristics such as segmented bodies and exoskeletons, and both belong to the phylum Arthropoda, scientists largely agree that their common ancestor was more crustacean-like than insect-like. So, the saying should really be that bugs are the shrimps of the land! 

Crustaceans inhabit ecosystems from the Arctic to tropical islands, and play critical roles in ocean ecosystems– including the deep sea. Many are deep-sea scavengers, recycling nutrients from marine snow and decomposing organisms, while also serving as a vital food source for larger predators. Others, like glass sponge shrimp in Venus’ flower baskets, also exist in delicate mutual relationships with other deep-sea fauna. 

In the Federated States of Micronesia, we explored multiple unnamed seamounts and documented a beautiful diversity of these leggy invertebrates. Here is a small selection of our favorites.