Penaeus monodon Fabricius, 1798
Giant tiger prawn
photo by Khan, Muhammad Moazzam

Family:  Penaeidae (penaeid shrimps)
Max. size:  33.6 cm TL (male/unsexed); 35 cm TL (female); max.weight: 250.0 g
Environment:  benthic; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 150 m
Distribution:  Indo-Pacific: From Pakistan to Japan, the Malay Archipelago and Australia. Introduced in the Atlantic Ocean (Africa and USA). Tropical to temperate.
Diagnosis:  Uniformly glabrous body; carapace with well-developed antennal and hepatic spines. Horizontal and straight hepatic carina. Rostrum armed with 7 or 8 dorsal and 3 ventral teeth. Color: body is reddish with darker bands. Brown to blue pleopods and reddish fringing setae.
Biology:  Caught by pond fishing and inshore fishing. Considered a delicacy in the Philippines that in 1980, retail price was Php60 to 80 (US$8.6 to 11.5)/kg in Manila and Php50 to 70 in local areas (Ref. 10). Maximum total length (female) from Ref. 104052. Juveniles are found in estuarine environments (Ref. 8), in mangrove inlets (Ref. 121464) and mangrove vegetate area (Ref. 121475). Enters shallow brackish water or kept in ponds (Ref. 374). Found in seagrass and among shells (Ref. 121467). Pelagic, i.e. recorded in the water column (Ref. 106854). Less of a scavenger; mainly a predator of slow moving benthic macroinvertebrates like small crabs and mollusks. Also capable of capturing more mobile forms like small penaeids and fishes (Ref. 102664).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. 123251)
Threat to humans: 
Country info:   
 

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