CreatureData

Killer shrimp

Dikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894)

Status not recordedcrustaceans

The killer shrimp (Dikerogammarus villosus) is a species in the family Gammaridae, order Amphipoda.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the killer shrimp

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the killer shrimp live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the killer shrimp as introduced in 17 countries, and flagged as invasive in 10 of them.

  1. Austriainvasive
  2. Belarusinvasive
  3. Germanyinvasive
  4. Hungaryinvasive
  5. Italyinvasive
  6. Polandinvasive
  7. Serbiainvasive
  8. Switzerlandinvasive
  9. Ukraineinvasive
  10. United Kingdominvasive
  11. Belgium
  12. Croatia
  13. Czechia
  14. France
  15. Russia
  16. Slovakia
  17. Spain

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the killer shrimp endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the killer shrimp classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classMalacostraca
  4. orderAmphipoda
  5. familyGammaridae
  6. genusDikerogammarus
  7. SpeciesDikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894)

Synonyms Gammarus marinus var. villosa

Other names and names in other languages (14)
  • blešivec ježatýCzech
  • Stor rovtangloppeDanish
  • Großer HöckerflohkrebsGerman
  • petokatkaFinnish
  • Crevette tueuseFrench
  • Gamberetto killerItalian
  • Gauruotoji šoniplaukaLithuanian
  • reuzenvlokreeftDutch
  • Kiełż dwupagórkowyPolish
  • Бокоплав-убийцаRussian
  • större rovmärlaSwedish
  • Бокоплав опушенийUkrainian
  • Gammare du DanubeFrench
  • Pontokaspische vlokreeftDutch

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the killer shrimp

Other species in the same genus Dikerogammarus.

Demon shrimp

Dikerogammarus haemobaphes

GammaridaeNo free photo yet

CompareKiller shrimp vs Demon shrimpKiller shrimp vs Dikerogammarus aralychensisKiller shrimp vs Dikerogammarus bispinosusKiller shrimp vs Dikerogammarus caspius

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the killer shrimp an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the killer shrimp as invasive in 10 countries, including Austria, Belarus, Germany, Hungary and Italy. It lists it as introduced in 17 in all.

What kind of animal is the killer shrimp?

The killer shrimp (Dikerogammarus villosus) belongs to the family Gammaridae in the order Amphipoda.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Killer shrimp (Dikerogammarus villosus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/killer-shrimp

MLA

“Killer shrimp (Dikerogammarus villosus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/killer-shrimp.

BibTeX
@misc{killer_shrimp_2026,
  title = {Killer shrimp (Dikerogammarus villosus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/killer-shrimp},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}