Week 3
Discussion
ABOUT SHRIMP
Shrimp are decapods (10-legged) a type of crustacean closely related to lobsters and crabs. There are some non-decapod crustaceans that are also commonly referred to as shrimp, but which are of different species. Shrimp are widespread, living near the seafloor in coastal areas worldwide and in freshwater rivers and lakes. There are over 2000 shrimp species. Prawn is a common name for some shrimp species but is not a scientific term or distinction. Shrimp mainly feed on algae and other plant particles along with tiny fish and plankton.
The photos below show a few examples of different shrimp species. Unfortunately, I do not know the names of the species shown.
Shrimp Anatomy
A simplified external shrimp anatomy is illustrated below.
The area labeled the head (or cephalothorax) includes the rostrum (nose), stalked eyes, a carapace (armor covering), two large antenna and a number of small antennules for feelers, mandibles (mouth), and five pair of legs. The legs aren't used much for locomotion but instead are primarily for standing or perching. Not shown in the illustration are three pair of small maxillipeds in front of the legs that are used to tear food apart and carry pieces to the mouth.
The abdominal area has the swimmerets (pleopods) which are used for swimming, a shrimp's primary means of locomotion. The tail functions like aircraft wings which control direction. Like lobsters, flipping the tail is a means of propelling shrimp quickly backward to escape predators.
I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach on Monday and was able to see shrimp in one of the tanks. This is one of them.
You could easily see the rapid movement of the swimmerets when shrimp were moving around. I noticed that there were tiny bristles lining the swimmerets that flared out when they moved back, helping the shrimp propel itself forward.
Shrimp is an important food source, providing literally millions of tons of nutrition to the world's dinner tables annually. It is a billion dollar industry. Of the 2000 species of shrimp, however, only about 20 are important for commercial fishing. Shrimp "farming" is a rapidly growing industry, but a lot of shrimp is still caught in the wild.
Shrimp Artistry
Shrimp have been the subject of a number of Japanese paintings. A few are shown below.
The two paintings below are by the famous ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849). The first titled Shrimp & Seeweed was executed in 1804.
This second painting, titled simply Shrimp, was done in 1812.
Utagawa Hiroshiga (1797 - 1858) was a close contemporary of Hokusai's, and like him, he is mostly remembered for his ukiyo-e. The first of his two prints shown here was executed in the 1832 to 1833 time period.
I don't know the date when this next print of Hiroshige's was executed.
Toyonari Yamamura (1885-1942) was a Shin-hanga artist known for his woodblock prints of beautiful people (bijin-ga) and Kabuki subjects. He was also deeply interested in natural subjects. His bird and flower prints were shown in the famed Toledo Exhibitions in 1930 (Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio). (Shin-hanga was an early 20th century (1915 - 1942) movement to revitalize Edo period ukiyo-e styles and techniques. It resumed on a smaller scale after WW II.) Toyonari's Prawns in Water print below was executed sometime in the 1920s.)
Qi Baishi (1864-1957) was one of the most loved Chinese artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. An early inspiration of his was the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, a recommended text for this class (see the Home page). His paintings include almost everything, but he is particularly well remembered for his many shrimp paintings.
