Ok - it has been a little while since I've shared any shrimp photos, so let's get right to it...

This little critter is a Squat Anemone Shrimp (Thor amboinensis) - or as they are more commonly known.... a Sexy Shrimp (yes, that link does indeed go to sexyshrimp.com!).

They get that name from their tendency to hold their abdomen up and do a little dance of waving their abdomen back and forth.

Unfortunately - no, I did not shoot the video.

Supposedly, these little (about 3/4") shrimp are common in both the Indopacific (ie: Wakatobi) and in the Caribbean. However, this one is the first one I've ever seen. They're pretty popular in the pet trade - and you can plainly see why with their bright colors, interesting patterns, and comical behaviors.

The photo isn't the greatest - the shrimp was hiding down in a hole, and I didn't have anything to anchor myself on, so I wasn't able to use the manual focus adjustment knob, so I had to kind of trust the AF selection and fire the shot off at the right time. Looks like my focus is just a tad off. I also cropped down for the close-up view - mouseover the image for the original.

All in all though, this is definitely an awesome find and a fun species to photograph. I'm already looking forward to another opportunity to do so!

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/120th sec at f/16. Image Stabilization on. ISO 200. Ikelite Housing and Port with Ikelite 161 Strobe in TTL Mode. Raw conversion and cropped in Photoshop CS5 (mouseover for original).