''Palaemon serratus'', also called the common prawn, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of shrimp found in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

to Mauritania, and in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

and

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

Ecology

Individuals live for 3–5 years in groups in rocky crevices at depths of up to . Females grow faster than males, and the population is highly seasonal, with a pronounced peak in the autumn. They are preyed upon by a variety of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

, including species of

Mullidae The goatfishes are perciform fish of the family Mullidae. The family is also sometimes referred to as the red mullets, which also refers more narrowly to the genus '' Mullus''. The family name and the English common name mullet derived from La ...

Moronidae The Moronidae are a family of perciform fishes, commonly called the temperate basses, consisting of at least six freshwater, brackish water, and marine species. Many members of this family are anadromous. Description These fishes reach 45 cm to ...

, Sparidae and

Batrachoididae Batrachoididae is the only family in the ray-finned fish order Batrachoidiformes . Members of this family are usually called toadfish, or "frogfish": both the English common name and scientific name refer to their toad-like appearance (''batrakh ...

. ''P. serratus'' can sometimes be found with a prominent bulge in its carapace over its gills. This is caused by the presence of an isopod parasite, such as '' Bopyrus squillarum''.

Description

''Palaemon serratus'' may be distinguished from other species of shrimp by the

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

, which curves upwards, is bifurcated at the tip and has 6–7 along its upper edge, and 4–5 teeth on the lower edge. Other species may have a slightly curved rostrum, but then the teeth on its dorsal surface continue into the distal third, which is untoothed in ''P. serratus''. ''P. serratus'' is pinkish brown, with reddish patterns, and is typically long, making it the largest of the native shrimp and prawns around the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. ''Palaemon serratus'' is one of the few

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s to have its hearing studied in detail; it is sensitive to frequencies between 100 Hz and 3 kHz, with an

acuity Acuity may refer to: *Visual acuity, the behavioral ability to resolve fine image details *Tactile acuity, the ability to resolve fine spatial details of an object with the sense of touch *Acuity Brands, a lighting and building management firm h ...

similar to that of generalist

. While the hearing range of a ''P. serratus'' individual changes as it grows, all are capable of hearing tones at 500 Hz.

Fisheries

A small

commercial fishery Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

exists for ''P. serratus'' on the west coast of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, chiefly in

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheub ...

( Cemaes Head to the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. Mu ...

), but extending increasingly far north to include parts of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. In

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, fishing for ''P. serratus'' began at

Baltimore, County Cork Baltimore (, ; , translated as the "Fort of the Jewels") is a village in western County Cork, Ireland. It is the main village in the parish of Rathmore and the Islands, the southernmost parish in Ireland. It is the main ferry port to Sherkin Isl ...

in the 1970s and subsequently expanded. A peak landing of 548 t was recorded in 1999, and four

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

account for over 90% of the catch —

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

, Cork and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. There is now concern that the current levels of exploitation may represent overfishing, and measures are being considered to limit the catch, such as a

minimum landing size The minimum landing size (MLS) is the smallest fish measurement at which it is legal to keep or sell a fish. The MLS depends on the species of fish. Sizes also vary around the world, as they are legal definitions which are defined by the local regu ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2103330 Palaemonidae Crustaceans of the Atlantic Ocean Fauna of the Mediterranean Sea Fauna of the Black Sea Edible crustaceans Commercial crustaceans Crustaceans described in 1777 Taxa named by Thomas Pennant