Page 298 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

296 ANIMAL LIFE

SUBPHYLUM CRUSTACEA SUBPHYLUM CRUSTACEA HUMAN IMPACT
Deep Sea Red Prawn Common Prawn PRAWN FARMING

Nearly all the world’s farmed
Acanthephyra pelagica Palaemon serratus
LENGTH LENGTH prawns come from developing
1
Not recorded Up to 4 / 4 in (11 cm) countries such as Thailand,
HABITAT HABITAT China, Brazil, Bangladesh,
Deep water Rock pools, shallow
water, and lower parts and Ecuador, which use
of estuaries intensive farming to meet
demand. Cutting mangrove
DISTRIBUTION Atlantic DISTRIBUTION Eastern Atlantic from Denmark to forests to construct prawn
Mauritania, Mediterranean, Black Sea ponds is now being
In the low light levels of the deep discouraged.
ocean, red appears black, making The common prawn has a semi-
the deep sea red prawn invisible to transparent body, making its internal SHARED RESOURCES
potential predators. Its hard outer organs visible, and is marked with Fishermen in Honduras fish for
casing, or exoskeleton, is thinner and darker bands and spots of brownish wild prawns in a lagoon shared
with prawn farmers.
more flexible than that of shallow- red. As with many other species of
water crustaceans, which helps prevent prawn, its shell extends forward
them from sinking into the depths. between its stalked eyes to form a stiff, prawn uses to swim. For a sudden,
The flesh of this prawn is also oily to slightly upturned projection called backward movement, the prawn flicks
aid further buoyancy. It uses its first a rostrum. This feature has a unique its tail. Females produce and look after
three pairs of limbs to feed on small structure by which the common about 4,000 eggs until they hatch into
copepods. The remaining five pairs prawn can be distinguished from all larvae. The larvae float among the
of limbs, the pereiopods, are used other members of the same genus. plankton until they mature.
for locomotion. Gills attached to The rostrum curves upward, splitting
the tops of the legs are used in two at the tip, where it has several
for respiration. toothlike projections on the lower tail fan, or pincered
leg
and upper surfaces. telson
To either side of the rostrum there
is a very long antenna that can sense
any danger close by and is also used to
detect food. Of the prawn’s five pairs
of legs, the rear three pairs are used for
walking, while the front two pairs are
pincered and used for eating. Attached
to the abdomen is a series of smaller
limbs called swimmerets that the

SUBPHYLUM CRUSTACEA
Anemone
Shrimp

Periclimenes brevicarpalis
LENGTH
1 in (2.5 cm)
HABITAT
Shallow water reefs

DISTRIBUTION Indian Ocean, western Pacific
Nestling among the tentacles of an
anemone, the anemone shrimp is safe
from attack by predators. It rarely
wanders far from its host, surviving
by scavenging scraps that the anemone
cannot eat. The shrimp may benefit
the anemone by removing excess food
particles as well as any waste it
produces. This type of relationship is
called commensalism: one individual
in the partnership profits from the
liaison and the other comes to no
harm. Removed from its host, this
shrimp is defenseless. The anemone
shrimp belongs to the same family
(Palaeomonidae) as the common
OCEAN LIFE pair of long, sensory antennae used to
prawn (above) and so they have several
features in common. These include a
sense danger and detect food and a
rostrum (the elongated projection of
the shell from between the eyes). The
anemone shrimp is almost completely
transparent, with a few purple and
white spots.