Red-handed Shrimp

Palaemon serenus

Crustaceans
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–8 m
Water temperature14–29 °C
Best monthsJanuary, February, and March
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Emma Sophie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Palaemon serenus, commonly known as the red-handed shrimp, rockpool shrimp, or rock-pool prawn, is a species of marine shrimp in the family Palaemonidae native to southern and eastern Australia. They are omnivores, feeding on algae or scavenging for animal matter.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Palaemon serenus”, 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: 211 records
February: 142 records
March: 162 records
April: 119 records
May: 60 records
June: 24 records
July: 40 records
August: 47 records
September: 76 records
October: 78 records
November: 67 records
December: 99 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–8 m · Deepest record: 287 m

0–10 m: 18 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 14–29 °C

12–14 °C: 2 records
14–16 °C: 65 records
16–18 °C: 12 records
18–20 °C: 3 records
20–22 °C: 19 records
22–24 °C: 9 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 1 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Rolf Lawrenz, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Zara, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Red-handed Shrimp, rock-pool shrimp

Other scientific names: Leander serenus

Similar species

Common prawn
Palaemon serratus
Chinese ditch prawn
Palaemon gravieri
striped river prawn
Palaemon intermedius
Oriental grass shrimp
Palaemon macrodactylus
Glass Shrimp
Palaemon affinis
Feeble shrimp
Palaemon debilis

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).
325 open-data records from 1907 to 2024.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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