Prawn is a common name for small aquatic with an exoskeleton and ten legs (members of the order of Decapoda), some of which are edible.
The term prawn[Mortenson, Philip B (2010) This is not a weasel: a close look at nature's most confusing terms Pages 106–109, John Wiley & Sons. .] is used particularly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Commonwealth nations, for large swimming crustaceans or shrimp, especially those with commercial significance in the fishing industry. Shrimp in this category often belong to the suborder Dendrobranchiata. In North America, the term is used less frequently, typically for freshwater shrimp. The terms shrimp and prawn themselves lack scientific standing. Over the years, the way they are used has changed, and in contemporary usage, the terms are almost interchangeable.
Shrimp vs. prawn
Regional distinctions
The terms shrimp and prawn originated in Britain. In the use of common names for species, shrimp is applied to smaller species, particularly species that are
depressed (wider than deep) with a shorter rostrum. It is the only term used for species in the family
Crangonidae, such as the common shrimp or brown shrimp,
Crangon crangon. Prawn is never applied to very small species. It is applied to most of the larger forms, particularly species that are laterally compressed (deeper than wide) and have a long rostrum. However, the terms are not used consistently. For example, some authors refer to
Pandalus montagui as an Aesop shrimp, while others refer to it as an Aesop prawn.
[Holthuis, L. B. (1980) ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/ac477e/ac477e02.pdf Volume I of the FAO species catalogue, Fisheries Synopsis No.125, Rome. .]
Commonwealth countries, and Ireland, tend to follow British usage. Some exceptions occur in Australia, where some authors refer to small species of the Palaemonidae as prawns and call the Alpheidae pistol shrimp. Other Australian authors have given the name banded coral shrimp to the prawn-like Stenopus hispidus and listed "the Processidae and Atyidae as shrimps, the Hippolytidae, Alpheidae, Pandalidae and Campylonotoidea as prawns".[Richardson LR and Yaldwyn JC (1958) A Guide to the Natant Decapod Crustacea (Shrimps and Prawns) of New Zealand Tuatara, 7 (1).] In Canada, the terms are often used interchangeably as in New Zealand (larger species are prawns, and smaller are often shrimp), but regional variations exist. South Africa and the former British colonies in Asia also seem to follow British usage generally.
Shrimp is the more general term in the United States.
See also
Further reading
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Bauer, Raymond T. 2004 "Remarkable Shrimps: Adaptations and Natural History of the Carideans" University of Oklahoma Press. .
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De Grave, S., Cai, Y. & Anker, A. (2008) "Global diversity of shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) in freshwater" Hydrobiologia, 595 : 287–293.
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Fransen, C. H. J. M. & De Grave, S. (2009) "Evolution and radiation of shrimp-like decapods: an overview" In: Martin J.W., Crandall K.A., Felder D.L. (eds.), Decapod Crustacean Phylogenetics. CRC Press, pp. 246–259.
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Holthuis, L. B. (1980) Shrimps and prawns of the world Volume I of the FAO species catalogue, Fisheries synopsis 125, Rome. .
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Kaplan, Eugene H. (2010) Sensuous Seas: Tales of a Marine Biologist Princeton University Press. .
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Meyer, R., Lochner, S. & Melzer, R. R. (2009) Decapoda – Crabs, Shrimps & Lobsters pp. 623–670 In: Häussermann, V. and Förster, G. (eds) Marine Benthic Fauna of Chilean Patagonia: Illustrated Identification Guide, Nature in Focus. .
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Poore, Gary (2004) Marine Decapod Crustacea of Southern Australia: A Guide to Identification Csiro Publishing. .
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Fearnley-Whittingstall, H. & Fisher, N. (2007) The River Cottage Fish Book Page 541–543, Bloomsbury Publishing. .
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Roberts, Callum (2009) The unnatural history of the sea Island Press. .
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Rudloe, Jack and Rudloe, Anne (2009) Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold FT Press. .
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Ruppert, E. E., Fox, R. S. & Barnes, R. D. (2004) Invertebrate zoology: A functional evolutionary approach 7th edition, Thomson-Brooks/Cole. .
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External links
