Purple deep-sea shrimp

Acanthephyra purpurea

Crustaceans
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth123–1,745 m
Water temperature0–28 °C
Best monthsJune, October, and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

Acanthephyra purpurea, sometimes called the fire-breathing shrimp, is a species of bioluminescent deep sea shrimp first described in 1881. The species is known for 'vomiting' bioluminescent fluid when distressed, although the fluid likely originates from the hepatopancreas and not the stomach.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Acanthephyra purpurea”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 18 records
February: 36 records
March: 62 records
April: 60 records
May: 105 records
June: 197 records
July: 88 records
August: 20 records
September: 46 records
October: 120 records
November: 122 records
December: 8 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 123–1,745 m · Deepest record: 5,370 m

0–10 m: 51 records
10–20 m: 3 records
20–30 m: 3 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 8 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 4 records
100–110 m: 5 records
110+ m: 795 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 0–28 °C

0–2 °C: 2 records
2–4 °C: 0 records
4–6 °C: 0 records
6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 33 records
10–12 °C: 93 records
12–14 °C: 48 records
14–16 °C: 59 records
16–18 °C: 131 records
18–20 °C: 93 records
20–22 °C: 142 records
22–24 °C: 138 records
24–26 °C: 71 records
26–28 °C: 79 records
28–30 °C: 4 records

Names and classification

English: Purple deep-sea shrimp, Fire-breathing Shrimp, purple deep-sea shrimp

Names in 1 more languages

French: crevette pourpre

Other scientific names: Acanthephyra abyssorum, Hoplocaricyphus similis, Miersia agassizii

Similar species

Dressed deep-sea shrimp
Acanthephyra eximia
Spiny pelagic deep-sea shrimp
Acanthephyra pelagica
Acanthephyra quadrispinosa
Sharp-nosed deep-sea shrimp
Acanthephyra acutifrons
Acanthephyra armata
Acanthephyra carinata

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,074 open-data records from 1963 to 2024.

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