These six species belong to the family of shrimp known as Pandalidae, which is found worldwide. These six species display a phenomenon known as protandic hermaphrodism , in which an individual shrimp matures as a male shrimp and changes into a female shrimp as it grows older. Breeding usually occurs in the fall and the female carries the eggs around her abdominal swimming legs. The eggs hatch in the spring and for the first 2-3 months, the baby shrimp stay in the plankton layer before settling on the bottom as juvenile shrimp. Shrimp have a life span of 3-4 years, of which the first two years are spent as male and the last two years are spent as female.
Some shrimps are burrowers and use their pleopods to excavate.