Dendrobranchiata is a suborder of

decapods The Decapoda or decapods, from Ancient Greek δεκάς (''dekás''), meaning "ten", and πούς (''poús''), meaning "foot", is a large order (biology), order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, and includes crabs, lobsters, crayfis ...

, commonly known as prawns. There are 540 extant species in seven families, and a

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

extending back to the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

. They differ from related animals, such as

Caridea The Caridea, commonly known as caridean shrimp or true shrimp, from the Greek word καρίς, καρίδος (karís, karídos, “shrimp”), are an infraorder of shrimp within the order Decapoda. This infraorder contains all species of true sh ...

and Stenopodidea, by the branching form of the

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

s and by the fact that they do not brood their eggs, but release them directly into the water. They may reach a length of over and a mass of , and are widely fished and farmed for human consumption.

Shrimp and prawns

While Dendrobranchiata and

belong to different

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

s of

Decapoda The Decapoda or decapods, from Ancient Greek δεκάς (''dekás''), meaning "ten", and πούς (''poús''), meaning "foot", is a large order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, and includes crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, a ...

, they are very similar in appearance, and in many contexts such as commercial

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

, they are both often referred to as "shrimp" and "prawn" interchangeably. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and some other

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

, the word "prawn" is used almost exclusively, while the opposite is the case in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The term "prawn" is also loosely used to describe any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (such as "king prawns", yet sometimes known as "jumbo shrimp").

Description

Together with other swimming Decapoda, Dendrobranchiata show the "caridoid facies", or shrimp-like form. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 100 The body is typically robust, and can be divided into a

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

(head and thorax fused together) and a pleon (abdomen). The body is generally slightly flattened side-to-side. The largest species, ''

Penaeus monodon ''Penaeus monodon'', commonly known as the giant tiger prawn, Asian tiger shrimp, black tiger shrimp, and other names, is a marine crustacean that is widely reared for food. Taxonomy ''Penaeus monodon'' was species description, first described ...

'', can reach a

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

of and a length of . Dall, 1990, pp. 3–4

Head

The most conspicuous appendages arising from the head are the antennae. The first pair are biramous (having two

flagella A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores ( zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many pr ...

), except in Luciferidae, and are relatively small. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 106 The second pair can be 2–3 times the length of the body and are always uniramous (having a single flagellum). The mouthparts comprise pairs of mandibles, maxillules and maxillae, arising from the head, and three pairs of maxillipeds, arising from the thorax. Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 106–108 A pair of stalked

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

s points forwards from the head. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 102

Thorax

The

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

grows from the thorax to cover the cephalothorax, and extends forwards between the eyes into a rostrum. This is only as long as the stalked eyes in Benthesicymidae, Luciferidae and Sergestidae, but considerably longer in Aristeidae. As well as the three pairs of maxillipeds, the thorax also bears five pairs of pereiopods, or walking legs; the first three of these end in small chelae (pincers). Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 108–110 The last two pereiopods are absent in Luciferidae and '' Acetes'', but much longer than the preceding pereiopods in '' Hymenopenaeus'' and '' Xiphopenaeus''. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 110 The thoracic appendages carry

s, which are protected beneath the carapace. Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 103–105 The gills are typically branched, and so resemble trees, lending the group its scientific name, Dendrobranchiata, from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words (',

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

) and (', gills). Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 103

Pleon

The pleon, or abdomen, is similar in length to the cephalothorax. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 105 It has six segments, the first five bearing lamellar pleopods, and the last one bearing

uropod Uropods are posterior appendages found on a wide variety of crustaceans. They typically have functions in locomotion. Definition Uropods are often defined as the appendages of the last body segment of a crustacean. An alternative definition sugge ...

s. Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 110–111 The pleopods are biramous, except in Sicyoniidae, where they are uniramous. The uropods and telson collectively form the tail fan; the uropods are not divided by a diaeresis, as they are in many other decapods. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 111 The telson is pointed and is usually armed with four pairs of

seta In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae, ...

e or spines.

Internal anatomy

Most of the

musculature Skeletal muscle (commonly referred to as muscle) is one of the three types of vertebrate muscle tissue, the others being cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. They are part of the somatic nervous system, voluntary muscular system and typically are a ...

of a prawn is used for bending the pleon, and almost all the space in the pleon is filled by muscle. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 113 More than 17 muscles operate each of the pleopods, and a further 16 power the tail fan in the rapid backward movement of the caridoid escape reaction. Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 113–114 These muscles, collectively, are the meat for which prawns are commercially fished and farmed. The

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...

of prawns comprises a dorsal

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

, and a

ventral nerve cord The ventral nerve cord is a major structure of the invertebrate central nervous system. It is the functional equivalent of the vertebrate spinal cord. The ventral nerve cord coordinates neural signaling from the brain to the body and vice ve ...

, connected by two

commissure A commissure () is the location at which two objects wikt:abut#Verb, abut or are joined. The term is used especially in the fields of anatomy and biology. * The most common usage of the term refers to the brain's commissures, of which there are at ...

s around the

oesophagus The esophagus (American English), oesophagus (British English), or œsophagus ( archaic spelling) ( see spelling difference) all ; : ((o)e)(œ)sophagi or ((o)e)(œ)sophaguses), colloquially known also as the food pipe, food tube, or gullet, ...

. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 114 The chief sensory inputs are visual input from the eyes,

chemoreceptor A chemoreceptor, also known as chemosensor, is a specialized sensory receptor which transduces a chemical substance ( endogenous or induced) to generate a biological signal. This signal may be in the form of an action potential, if the chemorece ...

s on the antennae and in the mouth, and

mechanoreceptor A mechanoreceptor, also called mechanoceptor, is a sensory receptor that responds to mechanical pressure or distortion. Mechanoreceptors are located on sensory neurons that convert mechanical pressure into action potential, electrical signals tha ...

s on the antennae and elsewhere. Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 116–118 The

digestive system The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller compone ...

comprises a foregut, a midgut and a hindgut, and is situated dorsally. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 118 The foregut begins at the mouth, passes through the oesophagus, and opens into a sac that contains the grinding apparatus of the gastric mill. The hepatopancreas feeds into the midgut, where

digestive enzyme Digestive enzymes take part in the chemical process of digestion, which follows the mechanical process of digestion. Food consists of macromolecules of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that need to be broken down chemically by digestive enzymes ...

s are released, and nutrients taken up. The hindgut forms faecal pellets, which are then passed out through the muscular

anus In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...

. Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 118–119 The

circulatory system In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart ...

is based around a compact, triangular

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

, which pumps blood into three main

arteries An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 120

Excretion Excretion is elimination of metabolic waste, which is an essential process in all organisms. In vertebrates, this is primarily carried out by the lungs, Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys, and skin. This is in contrast with secretion, where the substa ...

is carried out through the gills, and by specialised

gland A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also funct ...

s located at the base of the antennae, and is mostly in the form of

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

. Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 120–121

Life cycle

Prawns may be divided into two groups: those with an open thelycum (female genitalia) and those with a closed thelycum. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 125 In the open-thelycum species, mating takes place towards the end of the moulting cycle, and usually at sunset. Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 125–126 In closed-thelycum species, mating takes place shortly after moulting, when the

exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...

is still soft, and usually occurs in the night. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 126

Courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage or committed romantic, ''de facto'' relationship. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marri ...

and mating may take up to 3 hours in ''

'', while in '' Farfantepenaeus paulensis'', mating lasts just 4–5 seconds. Spawning may occur several times during the moulting cycle, and usually occurs at night. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 127 With the exception of Luciferidae, the eggs of prawns are shed directly into the water, rather than being brooded. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 130 The eggs hatch into nauplius

larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...

, which are followed by zoea larvae (initially protozoea, and later mysis) and then a postlarva, before reaching adulthood. The changes between moults are gradual, and so the development is

anamorphic Anamorphic format is a cinematography technique that captures widescreen images using recording media with narrower native Aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios. Originally developed for 35 mm movie film, 35 mm film to create widescreen pres ...

rather than

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

. Uniquely among the Decapoda, the nauplii of Dendrobranchiata are free-swimming. There are five to eight naupliar stages. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 131 The earlier stages have three pairs of appendages that are used for locomotion – two pairs of antennae and the mandibles. Later stages also have rudiments of other mouthparts, but the nauplius is unable to feed, and only lasts 24 to 68 hours. The body ends at a two-lobed telson, and the beginnings of a

emerge at this stage. There are typically five or six zoea stages in Dendrobranchiata, divided into protozoea and mysis. In the protozoea larvae, the antennae are still used for locomotion, but the mandibles become specialised for

mastication Chewing or mastication is the process by which food is comminution, crushed and ground by the teeth. It is the first step in the process of digestion, allowing a greater surface area for digestive enzymes to break down the foods. During the mast ...

. All the thoracic somites (body segments) have formed, and a

is present, covering part of the thorax. It is smooth in the family

Penaeidae Penaeidae is a family of marine crustaceans in the suborder Dendrobranchiata, which are often referred to as penaeid shrimp or penaeid prawns. The Penaeidae contain many species of economic importance, such as the tiger prawn, whiteleg shrimp, ...

, but bears many spines in the family Solenoceridae. The pleon (abdomen) is unsegmented in the first protozoea, and ends in a bilobed telson, which may be used for cleaning other appendages, or for steering. By the second protozoea, segmentation appears on the pleon, and by the third protozoea, which may also be called the metazoea, the

s have appeared. By the mysis stages, the pereiopods (thoracic appendages) start to be used instead of the antennae for locomotion. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 133 The larva swims backwards, with its tail upwards, spinning slowly as it goes. The carapace covers most of the segments of the thorax, and claws appear on the first three pereiopods. By the last mysis stage, the beginnings of pleopods have appeared on the first five segments of the abdomen. The post-larva or juvenile stage is characterised by the use of the pleopods for locomotion. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 134 The claws become functional, but the

s are still rudimentary. The telson is narrower and only retains traces of its two-lobed development. Through a series of gradual changes over following moults, the animal takes on its adult form.

Systematics

Dendrobranchiata were traditionally grouped together with Caridea as "Natantia" (the swimming decapoda), as opposed to the Reptantia (the walking decapods). In 1888,

Charles Spence Bate Charles Spence Bate, (16 March 1819 – 29 July 1889) was a British zoologist and dentist. Life Charles Spence Bate was born at Trenick House near Truro, the son of Charles Bate (1789–1872) and Harriet Spence (1788–1879). Charles adopte ...

recognised the differences in gill morphology, and separated Natantia into Dendrobranchiata, Phyllobranchiata and Trichobranchiata. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 99 Recent analyses using

cladistics Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to Taxonomy (biology), biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesiz ...

and

molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

recognise Dendrobranchiata as the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to all other Decapoda, collectively called Pleocyemata. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 137 The

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

below shows Dendrobranchiata's placement within the larger order

, from analysis by Wolfe ''et al.'', 2019. Before 2010, the earliest known fossil prawns come from rocks in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

of Permo-

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

age, . Schram ''et al.'', 2000 In 2010, however, the discovery of '' Aciculopoda'' from Famennian–stage rocks in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

extended the group's fossil record back to . Feldmann & Schweitzer, 2010 The best known fossil prawns are from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

Solnhofen limestones from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Living prawns are divided among seven families, five in the superfamily Penaeoidea, and two in the Sergestoidea, although molecular evidence disagrees with some aspects of the current classifications. Ma ''et al.'', 2009 Collectively, these include 540

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

species, and nearly 100 exclusively fossil species. De Grave ''et al.'', 2009 A further two families are known only from fossils. The cladogram below shows Dendrobranchiata's internal relationships of

families (excluding Solenoceridae):
Dendrobranchiata comprises the following superfamilies and families:
:Superfamily Penaeoidea Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1815 ::† Aciculopodidae Feldmann & Schweitzer, 2010 – a single Famennian species, '' Aciculopoda mapesi'' ::† Aegeridae Burkenroad, 1963 – two Mesozoic genera: '' Aeger'' and '' Acanthochirana'' Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 151 :: Aristeidae Wood-Mason, 1891 – 26 extant species in 9 genera, and one fossil genus Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 152 :: Benthesicymidae Wood-Mason, 1891 – 41 species in 4 genera ::† Carpopenaeidae Garassino, 1994 – two

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

species of '' Carpopenaeus'' Tavares & Martin, 2010, pp. 152–153 ::

Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1815 – 216 extant species in 26 genera, and several extinct genera, mostly Mesozoic Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 153 :: Sicyoniidae Ortmann, 1898 – 43 species of '' Sicyonia'' Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 154 :: Solenoceridae Wood-Mason, 1891 – 81 species in 9 genera Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 155 :Superfamily Sergestoidea Dana, 1852 :: Luciferidae De Haan, 1849 – 7 species in 2 genera :: Sergestidae Dana, 1852 – 90 extant species in six genera, and two extinct monotypic genera Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 156

Distribution

The

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

of Dendrobranchiata decreases markedly at increasing

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

s; most species are only found in a region between 40° north and 40° south. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 145 Some species may occur at higher latitudes. For instance, '' Bentheogennema borealis'' is abundant at 57° north in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, while collections of '' Gennadas kempi'' have been made as far south as 61° south in the

Antarctic Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

Ecology and behaviour

Messina Straits Argyropelecus hemigymnus

There is a great deal of ecological variation within the suborder Dendrobranchiata. Some species of Sergestidae live in

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

, but most prawns are exclusively marine. Species of Sergestidae and Benthesicymidae mostly live in deep water, and Solenoceridae species live offshore, while most

species live in shallow inshore waters, and ''

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

'' is

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

ic. Some species burrow in mud on the sea floor during the day and emerge at night to feed. Prawns are "opportunistic omnivores", and their diet can include a range of food items from fine particles to large organisms. These may include

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, chaetognaths,

krill Krill ''(Euphausiids)'' (: krill) are small and exclusively marine crustaceans of the order (biology), order Euphausiacea, found in all of the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian language, Norwegian word ', meaning "small ...

copepod Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...

s, radiolarians,

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), mea ...

nematocyst A cnidocyte (also known as a cnidoblast) is a type of cell containing a large secretory organelle called a ''cnidocyst'', that can deliver a sting to other organisms as a way to capture prey and defend against predators. A cnidocyte explosively ...

ostracod Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a Class (biology), class of the crustacean, Crustacea (class Ostracoda), sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 33,000 species (only 13,000 of which are extant taxon, extant) have been identified,Brandão, S.N.; Antoni ...

s and

detritus In biology, detritus ( or ) is organic matter made up of the decomposition, decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decomposition, decompose (Reminera ...

. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 135 Prawns eat less around the time of

ecdysis Ecdysis is the moulting of the cuticle in many invertebrates of the clade Ecdysozoa. Since the cuticle of these animals typically forms a largely inelastic exoskeleton, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The remnant ...

(moulting), probably because of the softness of the mouthparts, and must eat more than usual to compensate, once ecdysis is complete. Prawns are an attractive food for

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

s, with a higher energy content than most other invertebrates. Dall, 1990, p. 357 The larvae are prey to

comb jellies Ctenophora (; : ctenophore ) is a phylum of marine invertebrates, commonly known as comb jellies, that inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming (commonly referred to as "combs"), and they are ...

jellyfish Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the #Life cycle, medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animal ...

, chaetognaths,

and other

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s (such as

mantis shrimp Mantis shrimp are carnivorous marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda (). Stomatopods branched off from other members of the class Malacostraca around 400 million years ago, with more than 520 extant species of mantis shrimp known. All li ...

and

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

s), and only a tiny proportion survive. Dall, 1990, p. 358 Juveniles are targeted by a number of fish,

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s and

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s; '' Litopenaeus vannamei'' juveniles experience 90% mortality in the 6–12 weeks they spend in Mexican

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

s, and this is thought to be due almost entirely to predation. Adult prawns are less susceptible to predation, but can fall prey to some

. Dall, 1990, p. 359

Economic importance

Dendrobranchiata are of huge economic importance. While in some countries, such as the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, production is almost entirely through

, other countries have concentrated on

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

( shrimp farms), including

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

where 95% of production is farmed; some countries produce similar amounts from fisheries and aquaculture, including

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Tavares & Martin, 2010, p. 136 Species from the family Aristeidae are important to deep-water fisheries, particularly 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, where '' Aristaeomorpha foliacea'' is caught by trawlers. In

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, ''Aristaeomorpha foliacea'', '' Aristaeopsis edwardsiana'' and '' Aristeus antillensis'' are of commercial importance. The shallow-water

are of greater importance, however, and the most important species for fisheries is '' Fenneropenaeus chinensis'', with a catch in 2005 of over 100,000 tons. The most important species for

are '' Marsupenaeus japonicus'' (Kuruma prawn), ''Fenneropenaeus chinensis'' (Chinese prawn), ''

'' (giant tiger prawn) and '' Litopenaeus vannamei'' (whiteleg prawn).

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q6500145 Commercial crustaceans Seafood Extant Late Devonian first appearances Taxa named by Charles Spence Bate Arthropod suborders