Marine Critter ID
Vir coral shrimp:
- Vir euphyllius: (Anchor Coral Shrimp): Legs clear with yellowish joints or speckles. Antennae pale, at least in the photos I've seen. (Haven't knowingly seen it in person). Harder to see because it blends in better with its hosts.
- Vir philippinensis: reddish/pinkish antennae and lines on legs. Sometimes joints have purple rings in addition to lines.
- Vir colemani: instead of lines along the legs, it has purple spots/narrow bands on legs; purple to pink antennae
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Vir smiti: reddish/pinkish antennae and lines on legs. Vir philippinensis and Vir smiti seem rather hard to tell apart for sport divers. It's on my bucket list now.
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smiti vs. philippinensis:
From @franca2020: “They told me (in Romblon) that it is the newly described Vir smitti. I think mostly because of the dark red instead of purple. I will add some differences in colour to V. philippinensis from a paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Vir-smiti-spec.-nov.%2C-a-new-scleractinian-shrimp-Fransen-Holthuis/06851af41dd72b62b62fd92ecfc715f33b8b1eb5
After reading these, I am not sure it is V. smiti because I can't see the two first pereiopods being completely transparent! from the paper: Differences in colouration between V. smiti and V. philippinensis:- Antennular flagella red-brown in V. smiti; basally purple-blue and distally red in V. philippinensis.
- With yellow chromatophores between eyes and anterior appendages in V. smiti; without yellow chromatophores in V. philippinensis.
- First two pereiopods completely transparent in V. smiti; with purple-blue longitudinal thin line in V. philippinensis.
- Third to fifth pereiopods with red-brown thin longitudinal lines in V. smiti; with purple-blue lines in V. philippinensis.
- Uropods transparent in V. smiti; lateral margin of exopod of uropods with purpleblue line in V. philippinensis.”
