Prawn is a

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

for small aquatic

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s with an

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. 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 Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

, especially those with commercial significance in the

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including ...

. Shrimp that are present in this category often belong to the suborder

Dendrobranchiata Dendrobranchiata is a suborder of Decapoda, decapods, commonly known as prawns. There are 540 extant species in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian. They differ from related animals, such as Caridea and Stenopodidea ...

. 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

dorsoventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

ly depressed (wider than deep) with a shorter

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 ...

. It is the only term used for species in the family

Crangonidae Crangonidae is a family of shrimp, of the superfamily Crangonoidea, including the commercially important species ''Crangon crangon''. Its type genus is '' Crangon''. Twenty-four genera are included in the family: *'' Aegaeon'' Agassiz, 1846 ...

, such as the common shrimp or brown shrimp, ''

Crangon crangon ''Crangon crangon'' is a species of caridean shrimp found across the northeastern Atlantic Ocean from the White Sea in the north of Russia to the coast of Morocco, including the Baltic Sea, as well as occurring throughout the Mediterranean and Bl ...

''. 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 ''Pandalus montagui'' is a species of cold-water shrimp in the family Pandalidae. It is the type species of the genus ''Pandalus'' and is variously known as the pink shrimp, Aesop shrimp and Aesop prawn.tp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/ac477e/ac477e02.pdf ''Shrimps and prawns of the world''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 Palaemonidae is a family of shrimp in the order Decapoda. Many species are carnivores that eat small invertebrates, and can be found in any aquatic habitat except the deep sea. One significant genus is ''Macrobrachium'', which contains commercia ...

as prawns and call the

Alpheidae Alpheidae is a family of caridean snapping shrimp, characterized by having asymmetrical claws, the larger of which is typically capable of producing a loud snapping sound. Other common names for animals in the group are pistol shrimp or alpheid s ...

pistol shrimp. Other Australian authors have given the name

banded coral shrimp ''Stenopus hispidus'' is a Caridea, shrimp-like Decapoda, decapod crustacean belonging to the infraorder Stenopodidea. Common names include coral banded shrimp and banded cleaner shrimp. Distribution ''Stenopus hispidus'' has a pan-tropical dis ...

to the prawn-like ''

Stenopus hispidus ''Stenopus hispidus'' is a shrimp-like decapod crustacean belonging to the infraorder Stenopodidea. Common names include coral banded shrimp and banded cleaner shrimp. Distribution ''Stenopus hispidus'' has a pan-tropical distribution, extendi ...

'' and listed "the

Processidae The Processidae are a family of shrimp, comprising 65 species in five genera, and the only family in the superfamily Processoidea. They are small, nocturnal animals, mostly living in shallow seas, particularly on grass flats. The first pereiopods ...

and

Atyidae Atyidae is a family of shrimp, present in all tropical and most temperate waters of the world. Adults of this family are almost always confined to fresh water. This is the only family in the superfamily Atyoidea. Genera and species The followin ...

as shrimps, the

Hippolytidae Hippolytidae is a family of cleaner shrimp, also known as broken-back shrimp or anemone shrimp. The term "broken-back shrimp" also applies to the genus ''Hippolyte'' in particular and "cleaner shrimp" is sometimes applied exclusively to ''Lysmata ...

Pandalidae The family Pandalidae is a taxon of caridean shrimp. These species are commonly called pandalid shrimp. They are edible and have high economic value. They are characterised by the subdivided carpus of the second pereiopod and, mainly, by the la ...

and

Campylonotoidea Campylonotoidea is a superfamily of Caridea, shrimp, containing the two families Campylonotidae and Bathypalaemonellidae. Fenner A. Chace considered it to be the sister group to the much larger superfamily Palaemonoidea, with which it shares the ...

as prawns". New Zealand broadly follows British usage. A rule of thumb given by some New Zealand authors states: "In common usage, shrimp are small, some three inches or less in length, taken for food by netting, usually from shallow water. Prawn are larger, up to 12 inches long, taken by trapping and trawling."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 prawn and smaller are often shrimp), but regional variations exist. In western provinces, prawn is almost exclusively the general term. South Africa and the former British colonies in Asia also seem to generally follow British usage. Shrimp is the more general term in the United States. The term prawn is less commonly used in the United States, being applied mainly to larger shrimp and those living in fresh water.

References

External links

Shrimp versus prawnshrimp, lobster, crab
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Shrimp versus prawns
– YouTube {{Meat Animal-based seafood Commercial crustaceans Decapods Edible crustaceans Arthropod common names

Shrimp'' vs. ''prawn

Regional distinctions

References

Further reading

External links