| Penaeus | |
|---|---|
| Penaeus monodon | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Dendrobranchiata |
| Family: | Penaeidae |
| Genus: | Penaeus Fabricius, 1798 |
| Species | |
| |
Penaeus is a genus of prawns, containing several commercially important edible species. The giant tiger prawn (P. monodon) is the most important species of farmed crustacean worldwide.[citation needed]
In 1969, Isabel Pérez Farfante proposed four subgenera of Penaeus: Litopenaeus, Penaeus (nominate subgenus), Fenneropenaeus, and Melicertus. Rudolf N. Burukovsky proposed an additional subgenus Farfantepenaeus in 1972, spit from subgenus Penaeus; however, he did not specify a type taxon, which was corrected in 1997.
The genus was reorganised following a 1997 proposition of Pérez Farfante and Brian Frederick Kensley based on morphological differences, in particular the genital characteristics of these animals, although this revision was not universally accepted. Following the revision, many species formerly in the genus Penaeus were reassigned to new genera in the family Penaeidae: Farfantepenaeus, Fenneropenaeus, Litopenaeus, Melicertus and Marsupenaeus.
In 2023, based on molecular phylogenetic analyses, Chan proposed a reunification of Peneaus sensu lato, with reclassification into eleven subgenera. Fenneropenaeus, Litopenaeus, and Farfantepenaeus retain their scope of included species, but are returned to their original subgeneric rank. Melicertus is assessed as diverse, and split into six.
The following table gives an overview:
| Subgenus | Epithet | Species | Pérez Farfante and Kensley | Common name(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Penaeus) | monodon | P. (P.) monodon | Penaeus monodon | giant tiger prawn, black tiger shrimp |
| (Melicertus) | kerathurus | P. (M.) kerathurus | Melicertus kerathurus | caramote prawn, triple-grooved shrimp |
| (Fenneropenaeus) | chinensis | P. (Fe.) chinensis | Fenneropenaeus chinensis | fleshy prawn, Chinese white shrimp, oriental shrimp |
| orientalis | P. (Fe.) orientalis | |||
| indicus | P. (Fe.) indicus | Fenneropenaeus indicus | Indian prawn, redleg banana prawn, Indian banana prawn | |
| merguiensis | P. (Fe.) merguiensis | Fenneropenaeus merguiensis | banana shrimp, banana prawn, white banana prawn, Gulf banana prawn | |
| penicillatus | P. (Fe.) penicillatus | Fenneropenaeus penicillatus | redtail prawn | |
| silasi | P. (Fe.) silasi | Fenneropenaeus silasi | ||
| (Litopenaeus) | occidentalis | P. (L.) occidentalis | Litopenaeus occidentalis | western white shrimp |
| schmitti | P. (L.) schmitti | Litopenaeus schmitti | southern white shrimp | |
| setiferus | P. (L.) setiferus | Litopenaeus setiferus | northern white shrimp | |
| stylirostris | P. (L.) stylirostris | Litopenaeus stylirostris | western blue shrimp, blue shrimp | |
| vannamei | P. (L.) vannamei | Litopenaeus vannamei | whiteleg shrimp, Pacific white shrimp, king prawn, vannamei prawn | |
| (Marsupenaeus) | japonicus | P. japonicus | Marsupenaeus japonicus | Kuruma shrimp, Kuruma prawn, Japanese tiger shrimp |
| (Farfantepenaeus) | aztecus | P. (Fa.) aztecus | Farfantepenaeus aztecus | northern brown shrimp |
| brasiliensis | P. (Fa.) brasiliensis | Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis | red-spotted shrimp, spotted pink shrimp | |
| brevirostris | P. (Fa.) brevirostris | Farfantepenaeus brevirostris | crystal shrimp, pink shrimp | |
| californiensis | P. (Fa.) californiensis | Farfantepenaeus californiensis | yellowleg shrimp, brown shrimp | |
| duorarum | P. (Fa.) duorarum | Farfantepenaeus duorarum | northern pink shrimp | |
| isabelae | P. (Fa.) isabelae | |||
| notialis | P. (Fa.) notialis | Farfantepenaeus notialis | southern pink shrimp | |
| paulensis | P. (Fa.) paulensis | Farfantepenaeus paulensis | São Paulo shrimp, Carpas shrimp | |
| subtilis | P. (Fa.) subtilis | Farfantepenaeus subtilis | southern brown shrimp | |
| (Altiopeneaus) | marginatus | P. (A.) marginatus | Melicertus marginatus | aloha prawn |
| (Eopenaeus) | esculentus | P. (E.) esculentus | Penaeus esculentus | brown tiger prawn |
| semisulcatus | P. (E.) semisulcatus | Penaeus semisulcatus | green tiger prawn | |
| (Ischiopeneaus) | longistylus | P. (I.) longistylus | Melicertus longistylus | redspot king prawn, red-spotted prawn |
| (Oleopenaeus) | hathor | P. (O.) hathor | Penaeus hathor | |
| latisculatus | P. (O.) latisculatus | Melicertus latisulcatus | western king prawn | |
| plebejus | P. (O.) plebejus | Melicertus plebejus | eastern king prawn | |
| (Plagosopenaeus) | canaliculatus | P. (Pl.) canaliculatus | Melicertus canaliculatus | witch shrimp, tiger shrimp |