Are Shrimp Related To Cockroaches?

Shrimp are decapod found in oceans and seas, and cockroaches are insects found on land, usually inside our house or in the wild. They have many things in common.

But are shrimp related to cockroaches? Shrimp and Cockroach belong to the same phylum Arthropoda or arthropod. They had a common ancestor million of years ago so that’s why they are related. Apart from that, they don’t have any other similarities when it comes to the family tree. Shrimp and cockroach are related but they are not the same.

Little Bit About Cockroach And Shrimp

Shrimp belongs to a different group of crustaceans, in the order of decapods, and Cockroach is in the order of insect. They are completely different. Shrimp belongs to a different group of crustaceans, in the order of decapods, and Cockroach is in the order of insect. They are entirely different.

We have more similarities to Tyrannosaurus Rex than a cockroach is to shrimp. That said they have a lot of similarities in physical structure, although shrimp can be much more prominent in size. Their behaviors also have many resemblances.

Shrimp are eaten all over the world nowadays and if you want you eat them then you can do so by buying the red shrimp pack from Amazon, but they don’t seem to have a high reputation. People think they are not clean because they feed on dead fish, dead animals, poop from other fish. Cockroach shares the same behavioral trait, and this a similarity between them. This behavior has many benefits from a survival standpoint.

This strategy has allowed them to survive in times of scarcity. Without this, survival could have been difficult for them as they are not predators, and they are small. They are not at the top of the food chain so, having this behavior allows them to eat food that big predators won’t seek as a result protecting them against predators simply because they will go to a place where predators barely come.

They can hide in small crack and crevices within the seafloor, and when chased, they can get inside very quickly yet another similarity with a cockroach. These cracks are tiny, so big predators can’t enter. They are scavengers like a cockroach.

What Do Shrimp Eat?

Shrimp eats almost anything they can. As mentioned earlier, they are scavengers. Although they have some preferences like dead fish, worms, snails, crabs, and decaying organic matter, this behavior is noticeable in a Cockroach. However, they don’t have access to crabs. But by any chance, if they get access to them, Cockroach will eat them after they are dead.

Do Shrimp Eat People?

It’s very much possible that shrimp can eat dead human if the dead body is in the ocean or sea. Usually, it won’t be the case as the carcass will float, and big fish will be eating them, and shrimp don’t want to get exposed to the predators. So, they probably won’t eat humans because of that, but there can be desperate shrimps that can still attempt to eat the carcass.

If there are no predators, then shrimp won’t hesitate to eat a dead human body because they don’t hesitate to eat dead animals or fish, it’s the same for human bodies. This behavior is also applicable to Cockroach as they eat dead animals, and if they get an opportunity, they will eat the human body. A cockroach can climb out of a drain or come out of another place to eat the dead body. They can sense it with their antenna and can eat without hesitation.

Can Shrimp Survive Out Of Water?

Some shrimp can survive without water for some time, but they are water creatures. They cannot live without water. On the other hand, a cockroach cannot live inside water for a very long time. They are land creatures. They can float on the water and live for a while, but not for a long time. They are also tiny in size, so other predators can eat them. If you want to eat the Red Shrimp then you can get it at Amazon.

How Long Does Shrimp And Cockroach Live

On average, both of them have a somewhat similar lifespan. Cockroaches live for 1-2.5 years, and shrimp lives for 1-6 years. Male adult cockroach usually lives for about a year, and female Cockroach lives for about 2.5 years. Shrimp lifespan depends upon species to species.

Shrimp Has Protective Exoskeleton Like Cockroach

Both of them have a hard exoskeleton, which protects them against injuries. They are also helpful in safeguarding against predators as the predators need to add more force to penetrate their exoskeleton; this gives a chance to escape when any predator catches them. Although it’s not a 100 percent working strategy because some predators have enough bite force to rip them apart with a single bite.

Shrimp Has Many Legs Like A Cockroach

Shrimp also has many legs like a cockroach. These legs also look quite similar. These legs look spiky, but they are entirely harmless.

Loosing a few of these legs will make them unable to walk. These legs support their body and maintain the balance. Often time they lose their leg if a predator attacks.

These predators grab them from the side, and they lose their legs. Once they lose their legs, they can become prey reasonably quickly. They won’t be able to stand and won’t flee away as predators attack them. Shrimp and Cockroach have these similarities. Losing legs means losing a life.

Cockroaches are very annoying since they don’t die immediately even after losing legs but this natural cockroach repellent peppermint oil spray found on Amazon works very well against them.

Shrimp And Cockroach Has Long AntennaCockroach and shrimp antenna looks quite similar. Both of their antennas have scales all over them. These antennas allow them to sense many things. They have thermal, tactile, and humidity senses. The thermal sense will enable them to sense heat from a nearby object.

That allows them to detect warm bodies and cold bodies and provides them with a map of their surroundings and also detect food. The tactile sense gives the ability to perceive position, texture, shape of any physical object. For both of them, this allows them to travel without colliding with any object.

Without these, moving around could become very difficult. Humidity sense allows them to sense the humidity around their surroundings. These senses allow them to detect food and also protect them against predators. They can see the surroundings without actually seeing the surroundings because of these senses.

Shrimp also use their antenna to detect the water temperature, the salinity of the water. If Cockroach and shrimp lose one of these antennae, then their lifespan significantly reduces as any predators can eat them, they won’t be able to walk correctly, locate things in their surroundings. Losing their antenna is a very common phenomenon, and these renders them almost useless.

Cockroach Are Fast So Are Shrimp

A cockroach can run fast when they are in danger, and so does shrimp. Their speed also helps them get away from many predators. They speed up almost instantly whenever they feel they are in danger. And can change direction almost immediately. This movement startles the predators, and they miss. Although many predators have their unique abilities for hunting, this ability gives them a certain advantage. Their speed is a problem but this natural cockroach repellent peppermint oil spray found on Amazon works very well against them. Speed won’t be a matter when you use the repellent.

Conclusion

Although they are entirely different, one of them is insects, and another is crustaceans cockroaches and shrimp have a lot in common. They had a common ancestor million years ago; that’s why they show so many similarities. Their exoskeleton has similarities, and their behavior also has similarities. Shrimp are called Cockroach of the sea because of the same eating habit. Both of them are scavengers . They are related but they are not the same.