Kentucky cave shrimp

{{Short description|Species of crustacean}} {{Speciesbox | name = Kentucky cave shrimp | image = Kentucky cave shrimp (Palaemonias ganteri) (12434722624).jpg | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=De Grave, S. |author2=Rogers, C. |date=2013 |title=''Palaemonias ganteri'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T15888A788947 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T15888A788947.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Palaemonias ganteri | authority = [[William Perry Hay|Hay]], 1901 }}

The '''Kentucky cave shrimp''' (''Palaemonias ganteri'') is an eyeless, [[troglobite]] [[Caridea|shrimp]]. It lives in [[cave]]s in [[Barren County, Kentucky|Barren County]], [[Edmonson County, Kentucky|Edmonson County]], [[Hart County, Kentucky|Hart County]] and [[Warren County, Kentucky|Warren County]], [[Kentucky]].<ref name="KY">{{cite book|editor=Tim Slone|editor2=Traci Wethington |year=1998 |title=Kentucky's Threatened and Endangered Species |publisher=[[Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources]] |location=[[Frankfort, Kentucky]] |chapter-url=http://fw.ky.gov/navigation.aspx?cid=338 |chapter=Kentucky Cave Shrimp, ''Palaemonias ganteri'' |pages=17–18 |edition=2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008111401/http://fw.ky.gov/navigation.aspx?cid=338 |archive-date=October 8, 2010 }}</ref> The shrimp's shell has no [[pigment]]; the species is nearly transparent and closely resembles its nearest relative, the [[Alabama cave shrimp]].

The habitat of the Kentucky cave shrimp is exclusively in underground streams of caves. It is [[endemism|endemic]] to the [[Mammoth Cave National Park]] region of central Kentucky. The shrimp feeds mainly on [[sediment]]s that are washed into the cave by the movement of [[groundwater]].

==Conservation==

The Kentucky cave shrimp was registered as an [[endangered species]] under the [[Endangered Species Act]] in 1983,<ref>{{FWS profile |spcode=K01X |sci=Palaemonias ganteri |name=Kentucky Cave shrimp |date=October 15, 2010}}</ref> and was included on the [[IUCN Red List]] as Endangered in 1994.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> There are currently only several thousand remaining. It is mostly threatened by [[water pollution|contaminated groundwater]] running into its habitat.<ref name="KY"/> Several nearby communities either have inadequate [[sewage treatment]] facilities or lack such facilities altogether. An additional potential threat is the entry of contaminants from traffic accidents and roadside businesses. One incident in 1979 caused the death of aquatic cave organisms in a part of the [[Mammoth Cave]] system, and in a 1980 incident, a truck carrying toxic [[cyanide]] salts overturned on [[Interstate 65]], just south of [[Mammoth Cave National Park]].

A recovery plan is underway<ref>{{cite book|last=Harley|first=Stephen A. Miller, John P.|title=Zoology 5th edition|year=2002|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=Boston [etc.]|isbn=978-0-07-029411-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/zoology0000mill/page/119 119]|edition=5th|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/zoology0000mill/page/119}}</ref> which includes: # Surveying the location and extent of all areas supporting shrimp # Conducting life history and other research required to determine what constitutes a viable population # Monitoring population status # Maintaining adequate water quality; # Protecting the shrimp from introduced predators # Producing and conducting public education programs.

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Atyidae]] [[Category:Endemic crustaceans of the United States]] [[Category:Cave shrimp]] [[Category:Endemic fauna of Kentucky]] [[Category:Freshwater crustaceans of North America]] [[Category:Mammoth Cave National Park]] [[Category:Crustaceans described in 1901]] [[Category:Taxa named by William Perry Hay]] [[Category:ESA endangered species]]