FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

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Penaeidae 907
Metapenaeopsis barbata (De Haan, 1844)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None.
FAO names: En - Whiskered velvet shrimp; Fr - Crevette chamois barbulée; Sp - Camarón gamuza barbudo.
(after Hall, 1962)
Diagnostic characters: Body densely covered with short hairs; grooves and
crests on carapace obscure.Rostrum directed slightly upward, almost straight
and armed with 6 or 7 regularly spaced upper teeth (excluding epigastric tooth
on carapace); rostrum extending to about tip of antennal scale. Pterygostomian
spine well developed; generally 16 to 27 stridulating organs present
on posterolateral carapace. Abdomen with dorsal crest on third segment
narrow and more than 9 times as long as broad, median groove on crest
indistinct or very shallow; sixth segment about 2 times as long as fifth segment.
Petasma of males asymmetrical, left distoventral projection longer, bearing
7 to 12 well-developed sharp projections at tip, while right distoventral
projection bears 1 or 2 small spinule(s) at tip. Thelycum of females with
thelycal plate broadly subquadrate, 0.5 to 0.6 times as long as broad;
intermediate plate broadly trapezoidal and slightly concave, posterior ridge
with a small but distinct median tubercle. Telson with 1 pair of fixed and 3 pairs
of movable lateral spines. Colour: body whitish and mottled with irregular red
blotches;eyes dark brown;antennal flagella indistinctly crossed with red and white
bands; legs reddish; pleopods with white markings on sides; uropods reddish,
with distal and basal parts pale yellowish.
Size: Maximum body length 11.6 cm (females) and 7.8 mm (males), commonly
between 7 and 9 cm.
intermediate plate
thelycum
(after Crosnier, 1994)
thelycal
plate
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Found on sand, mud or sandy-mud bottoms, from depths of 2 to 219 m,
usually less than 90 m. Taken mainly by trawls. Appears to be common but nowhere abundant throughout
its range in the area. Of minor commercial importance, generally taken as bycatch. Marketed mainly fresh
for local consumption.
Distribution: Indo-West
Pacific from the Gulf of Bengal
to Japan and Indonesia.
coxal
plate
right
distolateral
projection
(after Crosnier, 1994)
left
distolateral
projection
petasma (ventral view)