Mysida Boas 1883

Chameleon shrimp got its name because it can change its color from transparent to almost completely black. At first glance, it looks like common shrimp. However, it is thinner and they have no claws or walking legs. Chameleon shrimp can hold onto stones and seaweed with their front legs. They eat plankton and swim around with their head erected. Young chameleon shrimp are smaller replicas of their parents.

The roughly 1000 known species of mysid shrimp range in size from around 2 mm to 8 cm. This group of Peracarida was formerly combined with the far less diverse Lophogastrida as the Mysidacea. Mysids are superficially similar to the euphausiids (krill). They may be pelagic (living in open water) or demersal (living near the bottom) and are found at all ocean depths. Some species are intertidal and burrow in the sand during low tides. Most mysids are omniverous suspension feeders. (Brusca and Brusca 2003) An excellent online source on the Mysida is Gary Anderson's Peracarida Taxa and Literature website.

The Mysidacea is a group of shrimp-like crustaceans in the superorder Peracarida, comprising the two extant orders Mysida and Lophogastrida and the prehistoric Pygocephalomorpha. Current data indicate that despite their external similarities, the three orders are not closely related, and the taxon Mysidacea is not used in modern taxonomy.