Skeleton Shrimp

A side-view of two skeleton shrimp.
(SINC Agency, Spain & Guerra-García, José Manuel)

Skeleton shrimp are amphipods (a type of crustacean related to shrimp and crabs). They have grasping legs to hang onto their surroundings as they sway with the current and use their front claws to grab their food—algae, detritus, and copepods. This tiny species only reaches a length of about one-eighth an inch (the female is smaller, only a tenth of an inch, seen here on the left) and is found in a cave off of the California coast on Catalina Island. The species was formally named in 2013 and was named one of the "Top Ten New Species" from that year by the International Institute for Species Exploration.