Relevant Synonyms Solenocera indica Nataraj, 1945 Misidentification -  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Carapace sparsely setose. Rostrum short, compressed laterally, deep, armed with 4-7 teeth on upper margin. Post-orbital, antennal, hepatic spines present; post-antennal spine absent. Cervical sulcus well marked, reaching mid-dorsum; hepatic sulcus well marked, reaching pterygostomian region; hepatic carina prominent anteriorly. Telson lacking lateral teeth or spines. Antennular flagella lamellate, forming a respiratory channel. Basial and ischial spines on first walking leg; ischial spine on second walking leg. Petasma, semi open, with dorso-lateral lobule bearing terminal process. Thelycum open, with protuberances on anterior part of sternite. color : body pink-orange, posterior margin of abdominal segments dark red, tail fan distally red. common size : TL males 8 cm, females 14 cm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Differs from other penaeoids in having a postorbital spine, both antennular flagella flattened, lateral margins of telson unarmed. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Life span less than two years, sexual maturity in first year, at 5 cm TL. habitat : 20-40 m, mud bottoms.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Egypt, 1981. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Indo-West Pacific, from Persian Gulf to Japan. Mediterranean : a single record as Solenocera indica from Egypt (Abdel-Razek et al., 1981). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Known from single record. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Presumably via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Abdel-Razek F.A., El-Hawary M.M., Halim Y., Drobisheva S.S., 1981. A new Indo-Pacific penaeid in the Mediterranean, Solenocera indica Nataraj. Bulletin Institute Oceanography Fisheries, Cairo 7(3): 575-577. El-Hawary M.M.A., 1983. Red Sea crustaceans of economic importance. Bulletin of the Institute of Oceanography Fisheries, Cairo (Egypt), 9: 331-334. Holthuis L.B., 1980. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 1. Shrimps and prawns of the world. An annotated catalogue of species of interest to fisheries. FAO Fisheries Synopsis, (125) Vol. 1, 261 pp.   Perez-Farfante I. and B. Kensley, 1997. Penaeoid and sergestoid shrimps and prawns of the world. Keys and diagnoses for the families and genera. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, 175: 1-233. Yu H.P. and Chan Y., 1986. The illustrated penaeoid prawns of Taiwan. Southern Materials Center Inc., Taipei, 183 p. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2002 ©ciesm 2002