Melicertus kerathurus

Melicertus kerathurus, the striped prawn or caramote prawn is a species of tiger prawn from the family Penaeidae which occurs in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea which is an important species in commercial fisheries. It is the type species for the genus Melicertus.

Melicertus kerathurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Penaeidae
Genus: Melicertus
Species:
M. kerathurus
Binomial name
Melicertus kerathurus
(Forskål, 1775)
Synonyms [1]
  • Alpheus caramote Risso, 1816
  • Alpheus punctulatus Risso, 1822
  • Alpheus trisulcatus Leach, 1814 [in Leach, 1813-1814]
  • Cancer kerathurus Forskål, 1775
  • Penaeus kerathurus (Forskål, 1775)
  • Melicertus tigrinus Rafinesque, 1814
  • Palaemon sulcatus Olivier, 1811
  • Penaeus trisulcatus Leach, 1815 (synonym)
  • Peneus cristatus Risso, 1827
  • Peneus mars Risso, 1816

Description

Melicertus kerathurus is a large shrimp, which has a body with an amber tint and a laterally compressed shell. There are 5 pairs of thin legs while the blue tail is often lined with red.[2] The average length of males is 110 to 140 mm while females are 130 to 170 mm, but the females can grow up to 225mm.[3]

Distribution

Melicertus kerathurus is found in the warmer water of the eastern Atlantic from the south coast of England to Angola and throughout the entire Mediterranean Sea.[1][3]

Biology

Melicertus kerathurus occurs coastal marine or brackish waters with muddy-sand or sand substrates. It is normally recorded at a depths between 0.5m and 90m however is most common between 5m and 50m, although it has been taken at depths of up to 640m in the Strait of Sicily.[4] They breed in the warmer months in inshore estuarine waters and in the winter they appear to migrate to deeper water.[4][5]

Fisheries

Melicertus kerathurus is exploited in an inshore fishery along all Mediterranean coasts, the prawn's large size and excellent taste make it a desirable quarry species. In West Africa the species is of minor importance and there are small fisheries in Benin and Nigeria.The total catch landed in 2015 was 7,410 tonnes.[3] Greece and Tunisia have been the main countries landing M. kerathurus commercially in recent years,[6]

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Threats

The Lessepsian migration of Erythrian penaeid prawns through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean may lead to increased competition for Melicertus kerathurus and the invasive Metapenaeus monoceros has already been implicated as a causal factor in the local extinction of M. kerathensis in the south-eastern Mediterranean.[7] M. monoceros is now the most important target species for commercial, inshore, fisheries in the Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia, and off Egyptian Mediterranean coasts. In coastal lagoons the invasive prawns Penaeus pulchricaudatus and Penaeus semisulcatus make up a major portion of the prawn catch. In addition the northern brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus has now been found in the Mediterranean and may be another source of competition for M. kerathensis, as well as being a potential vector for the bopyrid parasite Epipenaeon ingens ingens.[8]

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References
  1. Charles Fransen & Sammy De Grave (2014). "Penaeus kerathurus (Forskål, 1775)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  2. "Caramote Prawn". Lorpex Fish. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  3. "Penaeus kerathurus (Forsskål, 1775)". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  4. S. Vitale; L. Cannizaro; L. Lumare; S. Mazzola (2010). "Population Parameters of Melicertus kerathurus in South West Sicilian Shallow Waters (Mediterranean Sea) Using Length Frequenct Analysis" (PDF). Crustacea. 83 (8): 997–1007. doi:10.1163/001121610X510615.
  5. Kosmas Kevrekidis; Maria Thessalou-Legaki (2013). "Reproductive biology of the prawn Melicertus kerathurus (Decapoda: Penaeidae) in Thermaikos Gulf (N. Aegean Sea)(abstract)". Helgoland Marine Research. 67 (1): 17–31. doi:10.1007/s10152-012-0301-8.
  6. Kosmas Kevrekidis; Maria Thessalou-Legaki (2011). "Population dynamics of Melicertus kerathurus (Decapoda: Penaeidae) in Thermaikos Gulf (N. Aegean Sea) )abstract)". Fisheries Research. 107: 47–58. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2010.10.006.
  7. M. Otero, E. Cebrian, P. Francour, B. Galil & D. Savini (2013). Monitoring Marine Invasive Species in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): a Strategy and Practical Guide for Managers (PDF). Malaga, Spain: IUCN.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Danilo Scannella1; Fabio Falsone; Michele Luca Geraci; Carlo Froglia; Fabio Fiorentino; Giovan Battista Giusto; Bruno Zava; Gianni Insacco; Francesco Colloca (2017). "First report of Northern brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus Ives, 1891 in Strait of Sicily (in press)" (PDF). BioInvasions Records. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2017-01-02.
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