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Prawn Facts & Worksheets

Prawns, a common name for minute aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs under the order Decapoda, inhabit fresh or brackish water, often in sea bottoms.

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Prawns, a common name for minute aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs under the order Decapoda, inhabit fresh or brackish water, often in sea bottoms. Often used interchangeably with shrimp, prawns are more expensive and sweeter than their crustacean cousins.

See the fact file below for more information on the prawns or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Prawn worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

REGIONAL DISTINCTIONS

  • The terms shrimp and prawn were first used in Britain, where the name shrimp is applied to smaller species, specifically those that are dorsoventrally depressed, or those that are wider than deep, with a shorter rostrum. It is also the only word used for fish that are under the family Crangonidae, like the common shrimp or brown shrimp, Crangon crangon.
  • Smaller species are never called prawns. This term is only applied to most of the larger types, especially those species that are laterally compressed, or are deeper than wide, and have a long rostrum.
  • Commonwealth countries, together with Ireland, favor the British usage, except in Australia, where some authors call small species of Palaemonidae prawns and call Alpheidae pistol shrimp. Others have given the name banded coral shrimp to prawn-like Stenopus hispidus and categorized the Processidae and Atyidae as shrimps and the Hippolytidae, Alpheidae, Pandalidae, and Campylonotoidea as prawns.
  • Shrimp is a more widely-used term in North America, especially in the United States. In Canada, shrimp and prawn are often used interchangeably. In Western provinces, prawn is almost considered the general term.
  • New Zealand broadly complies with Britain’s terminology. A rule of thumb mentioned by some Kiwi authors states: “In common usage, shrimp are all some three inches or less in length, taken for food by netting, usually from shallow water. Prawns are larger, up to twelve inches long, taken by trapping and trawling.”
  • Other nations who follow British usage include South Africa and past British colonies.

TAXONOMY

  • There are 13 types and 200 subspecies of prawns.
  • Among the first subspecies of prawns found by scientists was the giant river prawn, Machrobachium rosenbergii, which thrives in subtropical and tropical waters along the Indo-Pacific region.
  • The Palaemon prawn inhabits the ponds, rivers, and streams of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.

SHRIMP VS PRAWN

  • Prawns possess branching gills, compared to shrimps’ lamellar or plate-like respiratory organs.
  • In terms of body make-up, prawns lack body segmentation, displaying straighter bodies than shrimp. Their shell segments overlap down their abdomen, causing a less distinct bend in their bodies unlike shrimps’ tight body curl.
  • Analyzing the leg structure will also help distinguish the difference between a shrimp and a prawn. Prawns have claws on three pairs of their legs, with their largest pincers on the second pair. Shrimps, on the other hand, have claws on only two pairs of their legs, and their front pincers are the largest.

DESCRIPTION

  • Prawns are generally black, pink, white, or gray. When an adult Palaemon prawn, between six and eight inches long, is caught, it appears to be pale blue in color. This prawn also has a cylindrical and elongated body, usually laterally compressed.
  • King prawns are sensitive to sunlight. However, tiger prawns are active throughout the day. Freshwater prawns prefer living in shallow water with access to mud.
  • Occasionally, prawns can change in color through a pigment in their skin directly under their shell. The cells in their skin turn their color to blue, yellow, red, yellow-white, and sepia-brown. These cells also provide school prawns pale spots, while deepwater prawns change their colors to bright red or even scarlet.

HABITAT AND DIET

  • Banana prawns, brown tiger prawns, and western king prawns inhabit the waters in the northern regions. The northern areas of Australia serve as habitats for banana and tiger prawns.
  • Prawns are omnivorous, commonly feeding on microorganisms, such as carrion and plankton. They also prey on small shellfish, worms, and other decayed organic matter.
  • After birth, prawns eat small pieces of seaweed and marine plants. After a year, they expand their diet. Adult prawns scavenge for food, and their diet often consists of dead fish, sand, crabs, and mud.
  • Young and adult prawns are often eaten by bottom-dwelling fish, like squid and cuttlefish. They are most vulnerable when they are in the larval period.
  • Prawns that reside in cold waters avoid eating sand or mud. Tiger and king prawns possess veins that appear to be different from their cold-water cousins. Thus, cold water prawns have clearer veins in their bodies compared to those of the tiger and king prawns.

REPRODUCTION

  • Adult female prawns are larger than males.
  • The two sexes are easily distinguished since males have an organ called pestana between their legs, and females have a thelycum, which lets them mate with males. They also have visible ovaries positioned in their head and tail.
  • Eggs are fertilized inside a female’s body, and spawning occurs after the eggs have been fertilized. During the mating season, females can get pregnant several times. King prawns, however, do not spawn during winter.
  • Prawns undergo three different types of life cycle: (1) estuarine, which takes place in sea waters, (2) marine, which takes place in ocean waters, and (3) mixed, which is undergone by baby prawns. During this type, females shed their fertilized eggs at the sea bottom. Eggs stay on the ocean floor until they are ready to hatch.

Prawn Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the prawns across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Prawn worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the prawns, a common name for minute aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs under the order Decapoda, which inhabit fresh or brackish water, often in sea bottoms. Often used interchangeably with shrimp, prawns are more expensive and sweeter than their crustacean cousins.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Prawn Facts
  • Not a Shrimp
  • Label a Prawn
  • Digging Its Anatomy
  • Fill the Tank
  • Prawn Types
  • Prawn Recipes
  • What’s the Difference?
  • Prawn on the Market
  • Prawn Wiki
  • Life Stages

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Link will appear as Prawn Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, January 4, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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