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Description:
Overall body color is highly variable in pink shrimp, but is
generally gray, bluish or red-brown. The sides of the animal are somewhat
flattened. The carapace has a medial carina that is bordered by a broad
groove on either side. The rostrum bears 6 – 7 sharp
teeth on the dorsal surface. Ventrally, the rostrum may have 1- 3 teeth.
The abdomen has 4 – 6 carinate segments, with the carina of the sixth segment
ending in a spine. The tail is edged with blue coloration, and the telson
has a deep medial groove. Large males attain a length of 7 inches,
while large females reach as much as 11 inches.
Habitat:
Pink shrimp are typically found in both estuaries
and the inner littoral zone
along coasts. Primary habitats for adults are sand, sand-shell, or coral-mud
bottoms from the intertidal zone to 115 - 210 feet in depth. Young pink
shrimp are often found in
association with seagrasses and marine plants. Throughout Florida and much of the Gulf of Mexico, Thalassia
testudinum beds commonly contain pink shrimp.
Similar Species:
Pink shrimp may be confused with other penaid shrimp.
However, they are distinguished from other members of the genus by a distinct
spot on the pleural junction between the 3rd
and 4th abdominal segments. It can be distinguished from
the brown shrimp, farfantepenaeus aztecus, due to differences in the rostrum:
F.
aztecus has 5-10 teeth on the upper surface of the relatively thin rostrum; while
F. duorarum has teeth on both surfaces
of the rostrum.
Range:
Pink shrimp occur in coastal waters and estuaries from Chesapeake Bay to
the Yucatan Peninsula.
It
is an important commercial species that is distributed throughout the Indian
River Lagoon.
*Formerly Penaeus duorarum.
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