Common Name: Common Marbled Shrimp

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific, Hawaii and Japan. In Australia recorded from Exmouth in Western Australia, across the tropical north, the Great Barrier Reef in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Nocturnal species rarely sighted during the day. Emerges from holes in coral and rocky reef at night to feed. Specimen pictured at a depth of 12 m.

Additional Notes: Variable colours and patterns, tufts of sensory hairs on carapace and abdomen thought to be characteristic of this species but little study has been done on this genus to date. Grows to about 50 mm.

References: Reef Creature Identification, Tropical Pacific. Paul Humann, Ned DeLoach, New World Publications Inc, Jacksonville, Florida, USA, 2012 edition. p.97.

Diana Jones, Gary Morgan, A Field Guide to Crustaceans of Australian Waters, Western Australian Museum, Reed Publishers, Sydney, 1994. p.73.

Atlas of Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Saron+marmoratus. Accessed 14/11/2018.