Hippolyte varians

Hippolyte varians, also called the chameleon shrimp, is a species of broken-backed shrimp in the family Hippolytidae.

Hippolyte varians
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Suborder:	Pleocyemata
Infraorder:	Caridea
Family:	Hippolytidae
Genus:	Hippolyte
Species:	H. varians
Binomial name
Hippolyte varians Leach, 1814
Synonyms[1]
Hippolyte fascigera Gosse, 1853

Description

A prawn/shrimp of up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in length, appearing in many different colours: red, yellow, brown, green, transparent or blue.^[1] The colour can adapt to surroundings. During the night it usually becomes bluish-green.^[2] The common name "chameleon shrimp" and specific name varians ("varying, fluctuating") both refer to this colour change.^[3] It sometimes matches the seaweed on which it feeds, such as the green Ulva lactuca or the red Palmaria palmata.^[4]

The short carapace has a single spine.^[5] There is also a spine above each eye, and the telson has two pairs of lateral spines.^[1]

Habitat

Hippolyte varians is found in waters as deep as 150 m (490 ft) throughout the eastern Atlantic.^[2][6]