News A new reef micro shrimp named after a hobbit

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The scientists decided to name the shrimp after fictional characters, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, the hobbit family from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings book (and movie) universe. Why? Bof the shrimp's hairy feet ... just like the feet of hobbits.

Due to their excellent camouflage and tiny size (about 1cm), Odontonia bagginsi has evaded discovery until now. In fact, most Odontonia sp. shrimps, all of whom are tiny and share similar symbiotic relationships with sea squirts (AKA ascidians) are only known from a single or few type specimens. Not much is known about the life of these shrimps, who spend their lives almost exclusively inside the cavities of sea squirts.

The new shrimp species is described in ZooKeys.

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