Acutigebia danai facts for kids

Acutigebia danai is a type of mud shrimp. It belongs to a family of creatures called Upogebiidae. This special shrimp only lives in the ocean waters near New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands. When an animal or plant only lives in one specific place, it is called "endemic."

Where It Lives

This mud shrimp has been found in many places around New Zealand. These include:

• The Bay of Islands
• Stewart Island
• The Kaikoura Peninsula
• Cook Strait
• Hauraki Gulf
• Opoulu
• Kaipara Harbour
• The Kermadec Islands

How It Got Its Name

Scientists give every living thing a special two-part name. This helps everyone know exactly which creature they are talking about.

Early Discoveries

Back in 1847, a scientist named Adam White described a different mud shrimp. He called it Upogebia hirtifrons. He found this shrimp during an expedition to Antarctica.

Later, another scientist, James Dwight Dana, studied some mud shrimps from the Bay of Islands in New Zealand. He thought they were the same species that White had described.

Naming the New Zealand Shrimp

However, Edward J. Miers realized that the New Zealand shrimps were actually different. In 1876, he gave the New Zealand species its own name: Gebia danai. He named it danai to honor James Dwight Dana.

Today, both Upogebia hirtifrons and Acutigebia danai are known to live in the waters around New Zealand.