Relevant Synonyms - Misidentification Trachypenaeus curvirostris Stimpson, 1860 (cf. Steinitz, 1933a and subsequent authors)  photo : Bella Galil

SHORT DESCRIPTION Carapace densely setose. Rostrum short, upcurved, 7-11 teeth on upper margin. Epigastric tooth distinctly separated from rostral teeth. Orbital, antennal, hepatic spines present, pterygostomian spine absent. Second abdominal segment bearing small tubercle medially, four posterior segments medially crested. Telson armed with 3-4 pairs of movable spines laterally. Basial spine on first and second walking legs. Petasma symmetrical, T-shaped, with wing-like distolateral projections. Anterior plate of thelycum triangulate, medially sulcate. color : carapace pale brown, abdominal crest white. Antennal flagella orange-red. Pleopods red with white marks. Uropods dark red with white margins. common size : TL males 8.5 cm, females 11.5 cm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Carapace setose, rostrum upcurved, petasma T-shaped. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Nocturnal. Reproduction April-September. habitat : sandy or sandy-mud bottoms, 6-300 m, usually between 30-60 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Palestine, 1929 [1924-1925]). DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Red Sea. Mediterranean : recorded first as Metapenaeus sp. in Palestine (Steinitz, 1929 [1924-1925]). Successively recorded in southern Turkey (Geldiay and Kocatas, 1968); Egypt (Dowidar and Ramadan, 1976); southern Tunisia (Zaouali, 1993b); Greece, Rhodes Isl. (Kevrekidis et al., 1998). A population is reported from the Gulf of Tunis, northern Tunisia (Daly Yahia, pers. com.). Collected between 1996 and 2003, at depths between 3 and 26 m, off Kas Peninsula, off the southwestern coast of Turkey (Yokes and Galil, 2004). Syria (Saker and Farah, 1994). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Abundant along the Levant coast since the 1970s. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal (Balss, 1927). IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Holthuis L.B., 1987a. Crevettes. In: Fischer W., L. Bauchot and M. Schneider [eds.], 1987. Fiches FAO d'identification des espèces pour les besoins de la pêche. Méditerranée et mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37. Vol. 1 Végétaux et Invertébrés, Rome, pp. 189-292. 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. Steinitz W., 1929. Die Wanderung indopazifischer Arten ins Mittelmeer seit Beginn der Quartärperiode. Internationale Revue der gesamten Hydrobiologie Hydrographie, 22: 1-90.   FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: October 2008 ©ciesm 2002