FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

954 Shrimps and Prawns
Sicyonia lancifera (Olivier, 1811)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Sicyonia cristata (De Haan, 1844) / None.
FAO names: En - Knight rock shrimp; Fr - Boucot chevalier; Sp - Camarón de piedra lanzón.
(after Motoh and Buri, 1984)
Diagnostic characters: Body robust, with shell very hard, of “stony”appearance.
Rostrum nearly straight, with 3 to 6 upper teeth and 1 to 3 apical teeth, lower border
usually bearing 1 tooth only. Carapace armed with 3 to 5 large, crest-like postrostral
teeth as well as a very strong hepatic spine. Abdomen heavily sculptured
and with each pleura ending in 2 or 3 sharp spines. Pleopods with a single
branch only. Colour: body brownish, with a complicated pattern of white stripes and
black dots; ventral surface somewhat reddish brown; dorsal surface of first abdominal
segment whitish, with a pair of large black spots; eyes light brown;
antennal flagella and thoracic appendages covered with white and brown bands; tail
fan with a thick white band near base.
Size: Maximum body length 8 cm (females larger), commonly between 3 and 5 cm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Found on sandy-mud bottoms, at depths from 25
to 350 m, usually less than 100 m. Probably burrows in sand during the daytime.
When it comes out, often walks on the bottom with the abdomen strongly curved
upward. Probably the most common species of the family in the area, but still few in
numbers and only caught incidentally during prawn trawling operations. Without
commercial value throughout its range because of its small size and low quantities.
Distribution: Widely distributed
in the Indo-West Pacific
from Mozambique to Japan
and northern Australia.
abdomen
(dorsal view)
(after Motoh and Buri,
1984)