''Metapenaeus monoceros'' is a species of

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an 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 intern ...

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, ...

. It is also known as ''speckled shrimp'', ''brown shrimp'' and ''pink shrimp'' in English, ' in French, ' in Spanish, ''koraney chingri'' or ''honye chingri'' in India, ''ginger prawn'' in South Africa and ''choodan chemmeen'' in Malayalam.

Distribution and ecology

''Metapenaeus monoceros'' is native to the

Indo-West Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the s ...

from

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

to the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

along the African coast and around India. Now it has also invaded into the eastern

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 ...

through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

, eliminating population of the native species ''

Melicertus kerathurus ''Melicertus kerathurus'', the striped prawn or caramote prawn is a species of tiger prawn from the family Penaeidae which occurs in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea which is an important species in commercial fisheries. It is the type ...

'' in those areas. ''Metapenaeus monoceros'' is found up to a depth of but commonly found between and . They prefer sandy or sandy mud bottoms. They live in brackish water or marine ecosystem.

Description

Adult ''M. monoceros'' are pale grey with dark brown spots giving them the name brown shrimp or speckled shrimp. Their body is covered with short hairs. They have red–orange antennae. They are medium-sized prawns with males growing up to and females growing up to . Males have a prominent curved spine on fifth

pereiopod The anatomy of a decapod consists of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment – often called a somite – may possess one pair of appendages, although in various groups these m ...

(walking leg). The maximum recorded weight is , but most individuals weigh less than .

Reproduction

''Metapenaeus monoceros'' is believed to be a continuous breeder with two major spawning seasons. These seasons were found to vary with time and location and environmental factors. In Tunisia, spawning seasons are May–June and October–November. In Egypt, May and July–October were found to be the spawning seasons. In Turkey spawning occurred between November and January. In India, December–April and August–September are the two main spawning seasons. Similarly, minimum size at

sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans, it is related to both puberty and adulthood. ''Puberty'' is the biological process of sexual maturation, while ''adulthood'', the condition of being socially recognized ...

also varied across range and possibly with sampling seasons, with males reaching sexual maturity from in Turkey, in Tunisia, and in India and Egypt. Size at maturity for females were in India, in Turkey and in Tunisia.

Commercial importance

''Metapenaeus monoceros'' is of commercial importance throughout its range. It is important in African coastal countries, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Israel and Egypt.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3002540 Penaeidae Edible crustaceans Commercial crustaceans Crustaceans described in 1798