Prawn

Prawn is a
The term prawn[2] is used particularly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Commonwealth nations, for large swimming crustaceans or shrimp, especially those with commercial significance in the fishing industry. Shrimp in this category often belong to the suborder Dendrobranchiata. In North America, the term is used less frequently, typically for freshwater shrimp. The terms shrimp and prawn themselves lack scientific standing. Over the years, the way they are used has changed, and in contemporary usage, the terms are almost interchangeable.
Shrimp vs. prawn
The terms shrimp and prawn are
According to the crustacean taxonomist Tin-Yam Chan, "The terms shrimp and prawn have no definite reference to any known taxonomic groups. Although the term shrimp is sometimes applied to smaller species, while prawn is more often used for larger forms, there is no clear distinction between both terms and their usage is often confused or even reverse in different countries or regions."
A lot of confusion surrounds the scope of the term shrimp. Part of the confusion originates with the association of smallness. That creates problems with shrimp-like species that are not small. The expression "jumbo shrimp" can be viewed as an oxymoron, a problem that does not exist with the commercial designation "jumbo prawns".[5]
The term shrimp originated around the 14th century with the Middle English shrimpe, akin to the Middle Low German schrempen, and meaning to contract or wrinkle; and the Old Norse skorpna, meaning to shrivel up, or skreppa, meaning a thin person.[6][7] It is not clear where the term prawn originated, but early forms of the word surfaced in England in the early 15th century as prayne, praine and prane.[8][9][10] According to the linguist Anatoly Liberman it is unclear how shrimp, in English, came to be associated with small. "No Germanic language associates the shrimp with its size... The same holds for Romance... it remains unclear in what circumstances the name was applied to the crustacean."[11]
Taxonomic studies in Europe on shrimp and prawns were shaped by the
Regional distinctions

The terms shrimp and prawn originated in Britain. In the use of common names for species, shrimp is applied to smaller species, particularly species that are
Shrimp is the more general term in the United States.[4] The term prawn is less commonly used in the United States, being applied mainly to larger shrimp and those living in freshwater. [14]
See also
References
- ^ "Prawn". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 9780471273967.
- ^ Chan, TY (1998) Shrimps and prawns[permanent dead link ] In K.E. Carpenter & V.H. Niem. The living marine resources of the western central Pacific. FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. Rome, FAO.
- ^ ISBN 92-5-100896-5.
- ISBN 978-0-399-51306-0.
- ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary: Shrimp".
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ prawnOnline Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Prawn Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Liberman, Anatoly (2012) After ‘shrimp’ comes ‘prawn’ Oxford University Press's Blog, 16 May 2012.
- ^ Liberman, Anatoly (2012) A scrumptious shrimp with a riddle Oxford University Press's Blog, 18 April 2012.
- ^ Richardson LR, Yaldwyn JC (1958). "A Guide to the Natant Decapod Crustacea (Shrimps and Prawns) of New Zealand". Tuatara. 7 (1).
- ^ Richardson LR and Yaldwyn JC (1958) A Guide to the Natant Decapod Crustacea (Shrimps and Prawns) of New Zealand Tuatara, 7 (1).
- ^ "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
Further reading
- Bauer, Raymond T. 2004 "Remarkable Shrimps: Adaptations and Natural History of the Carideans" University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806135557.
- De Grave, S., Cai, Y. & Anker, A. (2008) "Global diversity of shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) in freshwater" Hydrobiologia, 595 : 287–293.
- R. Gillett (2008). Global Study of Shrimp Fisheries. Rome, Italy: ISBN 978-92-5-106053-7. Fisheries Technical Paper 475.
- Fransen, C. H. J. M. & De Grave, S. (2009) "Evolution and radiation of shrimp-like decapods: an overview" In: Martin J.W., Crandall K.A., Felder D.L. (eds.), Decapod Crustacean Phylogenetics. CRC Press, pp. 246–259.
- Holthuis, L. B. (1980) Shrimps and prawns of the world Volume I of the FAO species catalogue, Fisheries synopsis 125, Rome. ISBN 92-5-100896-5.
- Kaplan, Eugene H. (2010) Sensuous Seas: Tales of a Marine Biologist Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691125602.
- Meyer, R., Lochner, S. & Melzer, R. R. (2009) Decapoda – Crabs, Shrimps & Lobsters Archived 2016-03-04 at the ISBN 9789563322446.
- Poore, Gary (2004) Marine Decapod Crustacea of Southern Australia: A Guide to Identification Csiro Publishing. ISBN 9780643099258.
- ISBN 9780747588696.
- ISBN 9781597265775.
- Rudloe, Jack and Rudloe, Anne (2009) Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold FT Press. ISBN 9780137009725.
- Ruppert, E. E., Fox, R. S. & Barnes, R. D. (2004) Invertebrate zoology: A functional evolutionary approach 7th edition, Thomson-Brooks/Cole. ISBN 9780030259821.
- ISBN 978-90-04-12918-4.
External links
- Shrimp versus prawn shrimp, lobster, crab ngrams
Shrimp versus prawns – YouTube