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 first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798. That name was overlooked until 1949, when Lipke Holthuis clarified to which species it referred. Holthuis also showed that ''P. monodon'' had to be the type species of the genus '' Penaeus''.

Description

Females can reach about long, but are typically long and weigh ; males are slightly smaller at long and weighing . The carapace and abdomen are transversely banded with alternative red and white. The antennae are grayish brown. Brown pereiopods and pleopods are present with fringing setae in red.

Distribution

Its natural distribution is the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the eastern coast of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, as far as Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and northern Australia.

It is an invasive species in the northern waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off the Southern U.S.

Invasive species

The first occurrence of ''P. monodon'' in the U.S. was in November 1988. Close to 300 shrimp were captured off the Southeastern shore after an accidental release from an aquaculture facility. This species can now be caught in waters from Texas to North Carolina. Although ''P. monodon'' has been an invasive species for many years, it has yet to grow large, established populations.Knott, D.M., P.L. Fuller, A.J. Benson, and M.E. Neilson, 2019, ''Penaeus monodon'': U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL Escapes in other parts of the world, though, have led to established ''P. monodon'' populations, such as off West Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean.

Habitat

''P. monodon'' is suited to inhabit a multitude of environments.Motoh, H. (1985). Biology and ecology of Penaeus monodon. In Taki Y., Primavera J. H. and Llobrera J. A. (Eds.). Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Culture of Penaeid Prawns/Shrimps, 4–7 December 1984, Iloilo City, Philippines (pp. 27-36). Iloilo City, Philippines: Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center. They mainly occur in Southeastern Asia, but are widely found. Juveniles of ''P. monodon'' are generally found in sandy estuaries and mangroves, and upon adulthood, they move to deeper waters (0– 110 m) and live on muddy or rocky bottoms.FAO-FIRA, 2010. "Giant Tiger Prawn Home" (On-line). Accessed April 15, 2019 at http://affris.org/giant_tiger_prawn/overview.php The ''P. monodon'' has shown to be nocturnal in the wild, burrowing into substrate during the day, and coming out at night to feed.Cultured Aquatic Species Information Programme. Penaeus monodon. Cultured Aquatic Species Information Programme. Text by Kongkeo, H. In: ''FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department'' nline Rome. Updated 29 July 2005. ited 15 April 2019 ''P. monodon'' typically feed on detritus, polychaete worms, mollusks, and small crustaceans. They feed on algae, as well. Due to their nutrient-rich diet, these shrimp are unable to consume phytoplankton because of their feeding appendages, but they are able to consume senescent phytoplankton. They also commence mating at night, and can produce around 800,000 eggs.

Aquaculture

''P. monodon'' is the second-most widely cultured prawn species in the world, after only whiteleg shrimp, ''Litopenaeus vannamei''. In 2009, 770,000 tonnes were produced, with a total value of US$3,650,000,000. ''P. monodon'' makes up nearly 50% of cultured shrimp alone.

The prawn is popular to culture because of its tolerance to salinity and very quick growth rate, but they are very vulnerable to fungal, viral, and bacterial infections. Diseases such as white spot disease and yellowhead disease have led to a great economic impact in shrimp industries around the globe. They can receive transmitted diseases from other crustaceans such as the Australian red claw crayfish (''Cherax quadricarinatus''), which is susceptible to yellowhead disease and has shown to transmit it to ''P. monodon'' in Thailand.

Black tiger shrimp's susceptibility to many diseases engenders economic constraints towards the black tiger shrimp food industry in Australia, which is farm-raised. To confront such challenges, attempts have been made to selectively breed specific pathogen-resistant lines of the species.

''P. monodon'' has been farmed throughout the world, including West Africa, Hawaii, Tahiti, and England. For optimal growth, ''P. monodon'' is raised in waters between 28 and 33 °C. Characteristically for the ''Penaeus'' genus, ''P. monodon'' has a natural ability to survive and grow in a wide range of salinity, though its optimal salinity is around 15–25 g/L. While in a farm setting, the shrimp are typically fed a compound diet, which is produced in dried pellets. By mixing the diet to have compound feeds and fresh feed, ''P. monodon'' was shown to have better reproductive performance.

Sustainable consumption

In 2010, Greenpeace added ''P. monodon'' to its seafood red list – "a list of fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries". The reasons given by Greenpeace were "destruction of vast areas of mangroves in several countries, overfishing of juvenile shrimp from the wild to supply farms, and significant human-rights abuses".

File:Tiger prawn IMG 1658.jpg
File:Flickr - cyclonebill - Tigerrejer med spinat, safrancreme og chili.jpg, With spinach and saffron cream sauce
File:Brochette de fruits de mer aux herbes.jpg, With coulis
File:Ebi Chili Mayo (3470640036).jpg, Tempura with wonton chips

Genetic research

In an effort to understand whether DNA repair processes can protect crustaceans against infection, basic research was conducted to elucidate the repair mechanisms used by ''P. monodon''. Repair of DNA double-strand breaks was found to be predominantly carried out by accurate homologous recombinational repair. Another, less accurate process, microhomology-mediated end joining, is also used to repair such breaks.

See also

*''Macrobrachium rosenbergii'', the giant freshwater prawn

References

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Penaeidae
Edible crustaceans
Commercial crustaceans
*
Crustaceans described in 1798
Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius