FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

922 Shrimps and Prawns
Penaeus monodon Fabricius, 1798 GIT
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Penaeus bubulus Kubo, 1949; P. carinatus Dana, 1852;
P. semisulcatus exsulcatus Hilgendorf, 1879 / None.
FAO names: En - Giant tiger prawn; Fr - Crevette géante tigrée; Sp - Camarón tigre gigante.
posterior
process
Diagnostic characters: Carapace with grooves and crests distinct, rostrum generally
armed with 6 to 8 upper teeth (including those on carapace) and 3 lower teeth;
postrostral crest well developed and reaching nearly to posterior margin of carapace,
with or without a feeble median groove; adrostral crest extending to just before
last postrostral tooth; gastrofrontal crest absent; hepatic crest almost horizontal
and extending far behind antennal crest. Fifth leg without exopod. Petasma
of males with distomedian projections slightly overhanging distal margin of costae.
Thelycum of females formed by 2 suboval lateral plates with tumid lips; anterior
process concave and rounded distally; posterior process subtriangular and partly
inserted between lateral plates. Telson without lateral spines. Colour: body
distomedian
projection
anterior process
lateral plates
thelycum
ventral
costa
greyish greenish or dark greenish blue; becoming reddish brown in large adults; carapace covered
with mud-yellow transverse bands, while abdomen bears dark brown and mud-yellow cross bands;
eyes light brown with many black dots; antennal flagella uniformly greenish brown; legs of same colour as
body but sometimes reddish or provided with bright yellow and blue bands; pleopods somewhat reddish or pale
red, with bases bright yellow and blue; distal half of uropods dark blue or dark brown with a red or
mud-yellow median transverse band, and margins reddish.
Size: Probably the largest known penaeid, with a maximum body length of 35 cm (females) and 26.8 cm
(males), commonly between 12 and 20 cm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: From the coastline to depths of about 150 m, usually less than 30 m, on bottoms
of sand, mud, or slits. Juveniles usually inhabit seagrass beds, mangrove swamps, and estuaries. Taken by trawls,
gill nets, seine nets, stake nets, traps, and artisanal gear. More abundant in the western part of the area and of
major economic importance. From 1990 to 1995, the reported yearly catch of Penaeus monodon in the Western
Central Pacific ranged from 8 513 to 17 194 t (FAO Yearbook of Fishery Statistics). Also commercially very
important for aquaculture. Large-scale pond culture of this prawn is practised in many Southeast Asian countries
such as Thailand (276 982 t in 1995), Malaysia (6 713 t in 1995), Indonesia (84 100 t in 1995), Philippines
(88 815 t in 1995), and Australia
(1 613 t in 1995). Marketed
mostly fresh and frozen, consumed
locally and exported. In
the Philippines, it is an expensive
food item and ranks above
other Penaeus species.
Distribution: Widely distributed
in the Indo-West Pacific
from the eastern coast of Africa
to the Red Sea, Japan, Australia,
and Fiji.
lateral
lobe
petasma (ventral view)