Crustacean · shrimp

Indian Ocean vent shrimp

Rimicaris kairei

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic A single ocean

Depth

From about 2,420 to 3,320 m, around hydrothermal vents

Size

Large females exceed 7 cm

Diet

Bacteria it raises inside its swollen shell

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• It has neither eyestalks nor ordinary eyes. Instead, it has pale orange “eyes” on its back.
• It lives in tight swarms around the black smokers of the Kairei and Edmond fields.
• Its swollen shell houses bacteria that make its food from the chemicals of the vents.
• In 2024, a giant anemone was filmed catching it with its tentacles.

Verified sources

1. JAMSTEC BISMaL, Rimicaris kairei
2. JAMSTEC 2000, Discovery of the first hydrothermal vent field in the Indian Ocean
3. Schmidt, Le Bris & Gaill 2008, Journal of Shellfish Research (Ifremer)
4. Neufeld et al. 2024, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Java giant isopodBathynomus raksasa Seafarer’s ghost sharkChimaera willwatchi Coral Seamount blue sea cucumberPannychia taylorae Giant abyssal anemoneRelicanthus daphneae Snow crabChionoecetes opilio Sculptured shrimpSclerocrangon boreas