Giant gamba prawn

Aristaeomorpha foliacea

Crustaceans
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth68–762 m
Water temperature8–30 °C
Best monthsFebruary, May, and June
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) NOAA Photo Library, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Aristaeomorpha foliacea, the giant red shrimp or giant gamba prawn, is a species of deep water benthopelagic decapod crustacean. It is found in all the world's oceans in the temperate and tropical zones. It is subject to some commercial fishing activity in the Mediterranean Sea.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Aristaeomorpha foliacea”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 44 records
February: 52 records
March: 22 records
April: 16 records
May: 70 records
June: 54 records
July: 48 records
August: 39 records
September: 29 records
October: 45 records
November: 31 records
December: 34 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 68–762 m · Deepest record: 4,389 m

0–10 m: 2 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 4 records
30–40 m: 24 records
40–50 m: 11 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 5 records
70–80 m: 6 records
80–90 m: 13 records
90–100 m: 4 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110+ m: 413 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–30 °C

6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 1 records
10–12 °C: 1 records
12–14 °C: 1 records
14–16 °C: 24 records
16–18 °C: 84 records
18–20 °C: 271 records
20–22 °C: 23 records
22–24 °C: 67 records
24–26 °C: 52 records
26–28 °C: 93 records
28–30 °C: 81 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Giant gamba prawn, Giant red shrimp, Royal red prawn, giant gamba prawn, giant red shrimp, red royal prawn, royal red prawn

Names in 5 more languages

German: Rote Garnele, rote Tiefseegarnele
Spanish: Camarón de mar profundo, chorizo, gamba española, gamba roja, langostino moruño, langostino rojo
French: crevette rouge, gambaru de fundu, gambon rouge, Gambon rouge, grande crevette rouge
Japanese: ツノナガチヒロエビ
Simplified Chinese: 胭脂蝦, 葉狀擬鬚蝦

Other scientific names: Aristaeomorpha giglioliana, Aristaeomorpha mediterranea, Aristaeomorpha rostridentata, Aristeomorpha foliacea, Aristeus japonicus, Aristeus rostridentatus, Penaeus meridionalis, Peneus foliacea

Similar species

Scarlet gamba prawn
Aristaeopsis edwardsiana
smooth red shrimp
Aristeus semidentatus
Stout red shrimp
Aristeus virilis

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,359 open-data records from 1881 to 2018.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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