Appearance
- Color ranges from rusty brown to pink and occasionally yellow or gray
- Tips of tail can be blue to purple
- Carapace and base of tail smooth with narrow shallow grooves along midline
- Dark-colored spot usually present on each side between third and fourth abdominal segments
- Decapod crustaceans with five pairs of legs; first three sets of walking legs with claws
- Toothed rostrum that extends to or beyond the outer edge of the eyes
- Large, well-developed eyes; large swimmerets
Similar Species
Brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus (lacks spot between third and fourth abdominal segments); white shrimp Litopenaeus setiferus (lacks grooves on carapace; has longer antennae than brown or pink shrimp)
Size
Can reach over 8 inches in body length.
Habitat
Inshore and offshore waters in a wide variety of salinities over coarse sediment bottoms. Juveniles usually inhabit seagrass beds and algal mats within estuaries.
Behavior
Larvae feed on plankton (tiny floating plants and animals); juveniles and adults feed on copepods, small mollusks, diatoms, algae, plant detritus, bacterial films, slime molds and yeast.
Reproduction
Pink shrimp can spawn year-round with peak spawning during spring, summer and fall. Spawning occurs in deeper and more southern waters. Females release about 500,000 to 1 million eggs near the ocean floor.
Additional Information
Short life span, usually less than 2 years.
Also known as: Penaeus duorarum
Photo credit: Janessa Fletcher, FWC