Researchers in China have given scientific names to the popular Bee Shrimp (the wild form of the Crystal Red Shrimp) and the Bumble Bee Shrimp.

The scientist collected and described 4 species of Dwarf Shrimp from the Guangdong province of China.  2 of the shrimp are similar to the Bee and Bumble Bee but less popular in the hobby.

According to Wang, Liang and Li, the Bee Shrimp (previously referred to as Caridina cf. cantonensis, the cf. means “similar to”) is now known as Caridina venusta.

The Bumble Bee Shrimp (previously referred to as Caridina sp.) is now known as Caridina maculata.

It is great to see that researchers are giving Dwarf Shrimp a little bit of the attention that they deserve.  I hope these names stick a gain scientific acceptance over time.  There is little that is more important to the Dwarf Shrimp hobby than actually knowing what species a shrimp is!