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 con ...

for small aquatic

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 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 internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...

and ten legs (members of the order 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 ...

), some of which are edible. 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 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 ...

nations, for large swimming crustaceans or

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

, especially those with commercial significance in the

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, sub ...

. Shrimp 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 describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

ly depressed (wider than deep) with a shorter

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit ** podium * 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 ...

. 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''. Crangonid shrimps' first pair of pereiopods have partially chelate claws tha ...

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

Crangon crangon ''Crangon crangon'' is a species of caridean shrimp found across the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from the White Sea in the north of Russia to the coast of Morocco, including the Baltic Sea, and appears also throughout the Med ...

''. 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. .

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 commerci ...

as prawns and call the

Alpheidae Alpheidae (also known as the snapping shrimp, pistol shrimp or alpheid shrimp) is a family (biology), family within the shrimp infraorder Caridea characterized by having asymmetrical claws, the larger of which is typically capable of producing a ...

pistol shrimp. Other Australian authors have given the name

banded coral shrimp ''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 ...

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 Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water conta ...

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 lac ...

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 prawns, and smaller are often shrimp), but regional variations exist. South Africa and the former British colonies in Asia also seem to follow British usage generally. 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 freshwater.

References

External links

Shrimp versus prawnshrimp, lobster, crab
ngrams * Nuvola apps kaboodle

Shrimp versus prawns
– YouTube {{edible crustaceans Animal-based seafood Commercial crustaceans Decapods Edible crustaceans Arthropod common names

''Shrimp'' vs. ''prawn''

Regional distinctions

See also

References

Further reading

External links