Did you know Missouri has freshwater shrimp? Let's dive into the facts!
Two types of freshwater shrimp can be found in Missouri's lakes and rivers. One is common, and it’s the Mississippi Grass Shrimp, and the other… the Ohio shrimp is rare!
Mississippi Grass Shrimp are small and transparent, and they are also known as glass or ghost shrimp. Curious about how they got their nicknames? Wonder no more; they are called glass or ghost shrimp because you can see their organs as their body is transparent like glass. They are small and not very visible and are consumed easily by fish and other predators. They are very common in sluggish, freshwater habitats.
A much larger species, and less common, is the Ohio Shrimp.
They were known to migrate along the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico and back. They were commonly harvested for food in the 1800s, but today they have become very rare in Missouri.
More information about Missouri’s shrimp can be found online at missouriconservation.org.
