Camaron

Species Name:    | Penaeus setiferus |
Common Name:      |       (white shrimp) |

I.  TAXONOMY
Kingdom | Phylum/Division: | Class: | Order: | Family: | Genus: |
Animalia | Arthropoda | Malacostraca | Decapoda | Penaeidae | Penaeus |



The white shrimp, Penaeus setiferus.  Photo courtesy of South Florida Water Management District. |
Species Name:
Penaeus setiferus (Linnaeus,1767) Common Name:
Most common: White shrimp; northern white shrimp. Other associated names: gray shrimp, Daytona shrimp, lake shrimp, green shrimp, green-tailed shrimp, blue-tailed shrimp and others (Muncy 1984). |


Species Description:
The white shrimp, Penaeus setiferus, was the first species of commercially important shrimp in the U.S., with the fishery for this species dating back to1709 (Muncy 1984). P. setiferus is common in Florida waters and is generally found where water is less than 27 m deep (Muncy 1984). Antennae are significantly longer than body length, and may reach 2.5 – 3 times body length (Muncy 1984). Chromatophores in white shrimp are widely spaced, thus lending a lighter body color to this species than in either pink or brown shrimp. Overall body color is abluish white, speckled with black, with pink-tinged sides. Pleopods are often marked with dark red, while the margins of the uropods of the tail are green along their margins (Williams 1984). Its carapace has a medial carina (keel-like ridge) that is continuous with the rostrum at the anterior end of the animal, and extends posteriorly approximately 2/3 the length of the carapace. The rostrum iselongate and slender, somewhat distally upcurved, with 5 – 11 (usually 9) sharp teeth on the dorsal surface, and 2 teeth on the ventral edge. Unlike its congeners P. aztecus and P. duorarum, P. setiferus has no bordering groove along the carina. The integument is thin, and appears polished and translucent.The abdomen is carinate on segments 4 – 6, with the carina of segment 6 having a narrow grooveon either side. The telson has a deep medial groove along its length, and a sharp tip. The ventral margin of the pleura of the first segment is almost straight.P. setiferus is sexually dimorphic, with females growing larger than males. Additionally, the female thelycum, which lies between pereopods 3- 5, is open and has raised ridges along the anterolateral surface. The male pentasma has adiagonal ridge across the dorsolateral lobe.Synonymy:
Cancer setiferus Linnaeus, 1767Other Taxonomic Groupings:
Subphylum: Crustacea
Subclass: Eumalacostraca
Suborder: Dendrobranchiata
II.  HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION Regional Occurrence:
White shrimp are known from Fire Island, New York south to St. Lucie Inlet, Florida. The range then extends around the Florida Peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico fromthe Ochlocknee River in northwest Florida to Campeche, Mexico. Several centers of abundance have been identified for P. setiferus. Primary among them is coastal Louisiana around the Mississippi River Delta. Other abundance areas occur in northeast Florida, Georgia, and the region around the Bay of Campeche, Mexico (Williams 1984).IRL Distribution:
White shrimp are distributed throughout theIndian River Lagoon and along the east central Florida coast where they are commonly utilized as bait and for food.
III.  LIFE HISTORY AND POPULATION BIOLOGYAge, Size, Lifespan:
Large males measure approximately 182 mm in length. Large females grow slightly larger and eventually reach 200 mm. Williams (1984) reported that females beyond the juvenile stage are consistently larger than males.Inestuaries, juvenile white shrimp grow approximately 1.2 mm per day during late spring and summer months (Williams 1965). Growth is slow in spring, but quickens with the onset of summer. Growth rates decrease during the fall months, but shrimp that remain in estuaries to overwinter resume growing the following spring (Muncy 1984). Few white shrimp live as long as a year (Anderson 1966), however,...