Common Prawn and Rockpool Shrimp/Prawn Palaemon serratus/ Palaemon elegans

The Common Prawn, Palaemon serratus and the Rockpool Shrimp or Prawn, P. elegans are two similar-looking marine shrimp with similar habitat, habits and native distribution. The main difference between them is the number of teeth on their rostrum!

Both can be found in tidal rockpools and are native to the northeastern Atlantic. The Common Prawn's range is from Denmark to Mauritania, including the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The Rockpool Shrimp/Prawn, also called the Mediterranean Glass Shrimp, has a range including the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the West African coast.

The Common Prawn grows to c. 10cm (4 inches) long - the largest shrimp around the British Isles. The Rockpool Shrimp is smaller, growing to 6cm. Two other species in the genus which look similar are the Baltic Prawn, P. adspersus, of the Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean growing to 8cm and the Delta Prawn, P. longirostris, of the North Sea and British Isles and growing to 7cm.

All four mentioned above have clear, translucent bodies with reddish rings as adults (until cooked when they become pink). All are scavengers of dead plant and animal material. Photos above may be of both species, Rockpool Prawn/Shrimp and the Common Prawn, which both have red-brown and yellow leg joints.