Penaeus

Penaeus is a genus of prawns, including the giant tiger prawn, the most important species of farmed crustacean worldwide.

Taxonomy

The genus has been reorganised following a proposition of Pérez Farfante and Kensley based on morphological differences, in particular the genital characteristics of these animals, although this revision has not been universally accepted. Following the revision, many species formerly in the genus Penaeus have been reassigned to new genera in the family Penaeidae: Farfantepenaeus, Fenneropenaeus, Litopenaeus, and Marsupenaeus. The following table gives an overview:

Old scientific name	New scientific name	Common name
P. aztecus	Farfantepenaeus aztecus	northern brown shrimp
P. brasiliensis	Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis	red-spotted shrimp, spotted pink shrimp
P. brevirostris	Farfantepenaeus brevirostris	crystal shrimp, pink shrimp
P. californiensis	Farfantepenaeus californiensis	yellowleg shrimp, brown shrimp
P. chinensis	Fenneropenaeus chinensis	fleshy prawn, Chinese white shrimp, oriental shrimp
P. orientalis	Fenneropenaeus chinensis	fleshy prawn, Chinese white shrimp, oriental shrimp
P. duorarum	Farfantepenaeus duorarum	northern pink shrimp
P. esculentus	Penaeus esculentus	brown tiger prawn
P. hathor	Penaeus hathor
P. indicus	Fenneropenaeus indicus	Indian prawn
P. japonicus	Marsupenaeus japonicus	Kuruma shrimp, Kuruma prawn, Japanese tiger shrimp
P. merguiensis	Fenneropenaeus merguiensis	banana shrimp, banana prawn
P. monodon	Penaeus monodon	giant tiger prawn, black tiger shrimp
P. notialis	Farfantepenaeus notialis	southern pink shrimp
P. occidentalis	Litopenaeus occidentalis	western white shrimp
P. paulensis	Farfantepenaeus paulensis	São Paulo shrimp, Carpas shrimp
P. penicillatus	Fenneropenaeus penicillatus	redtail prawn
P. schmitti	Litopenaeus schmitti	southern white shrimp
P. semisulcatus	Penaeus semisulcatus	green tiger prawn
P. setiferus	Litopenaeus setiferus	northern white shrimp
P. silasi	Fenneropenaeus silasi
P. stylirostris	Litopenaeus stylirostris	western blue shrimp, blue shrimp
P. subtilis	Farfantepenaeus subtilis	southern brown shrimp
P. vannamei	Litopenaeus vannamei	whiteleg shrimp, Pacific white shrimp, King prawn

A few more species that are sometimes given as Penaeus spp. are actually assigned to the genus Melicertus:

Invalid name	Valid scientific name	Common name
P. canaliculatus	Melicertus canaliculatus	witch shrimp, tiger shrimp
P. kerathurus	Melicertus kerathurus	Caramote prawn, triple-grooved shrimp
P. latisculatus	Melicertus latisulcatus	western king prawn
P. longistylus	Melicertus longistylus	redspot king prawn, red-spotted prawn
P. marginatus	Melicertus marginatus	Aloha prawn
P. plebejus	Melicertus plebejus	eastern king prawn