FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

Penaeidae 933
Metapenaeopsis wellsi Racek, 1967
En - Velvet shrimp.
Maximum body length 11 cm (females) and 11.8 cm (males). At depths between 13 and 78 m.
Restricted to northern Australia from Shark Bay (Western Australia) to Gulf of Carpentaria (Queensland).
Of minor commercial importance, taken as bycatch in trawls. Marketed fresh or frozen for
local consumption.
(from Crosnier, 1991)
Metapenaeus affinis (H. Milne Edwards, 1837)
petasma (ventral view)
(after Crosnier, 1991)
En - Jinga shrimp; Fr - Crevette jinga; Sp - Camarón jinga.
Maximum body length 18.6 cm for females (perhaps to 22.2 cm) and 14.6 cm for males; commonly
between 10 and 14 cm. On mud or sandy-mud bottoms, from the coastline to depths of about 90 m,
usually less than 55 m. Juveniles generally are found in estuaries and backwaters. Caught by
trawlers, traps, seine nets, and artisanal gear. Marketed fresh or frozen, probably mainly for local
consumption. Widespread in the Indo-West Pacific from the Persian Gulf to Taiwan Province of
China, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. Can be easily confused with Metapenaeus ensis
and seems to occur mainly in the western part of the area, from Viet Nam to Thailand, Malaysia,
and Indonesia.
merus of fifth leg (male)
thelycum
thelycal
plate
anterior plate
lateral plates
thelycum
right
distolateral
projection
coxal
plate
intermediate
plate
left
distolateral
projection
distomedian projections
petasma (ventral view)