Like crabs and lobsters, the fine striped snapping shrimp is a crustacean, which means it has a hard shell called an exoskeleton.

It lives in a very close, or symbiotic, relationship with a fish called a goby. The snapping shrimp builds a home which they both share—a snug hole in the sand. The shrimp keeps the burrow clean, and the goby stands guard so that other animals don’t steal it. The goby also protects the shrimp from its predators. When both animals benefit from a relationship, it is called mutualism.