Common prawn

Palaemon serratus

Crustaceans
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth4–22 m
Water temperature10–15 °C
Best monthsJuly, August, and September
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Jamie O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Palaemon serratus, also called the common prawn, is a species of shrimp found in the Atlantic Ocean from Denmark to Mauritania, and in the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Palaemon serratus”, 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: 136 records
February: 154 records
March: 243 records
April: 346 records
May: 337 records
June: 434 records
July: 735 records
August: 1,004 records
September: 881 records
October: 590 records
November: 222 records
December: 102 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–22 m · Deepest record: 264 m

0–10 m: 1,378 records
10–20 m: 797 records
20–30 m: 187 records
30–40 m: 46 records
40–50 m: 25 records
50–60 m: 22 records
60–70 m: 13 records
70–80 m: 5 records
80–90 m: 12 records
90–100 m: 11 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 5 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 10–15 °C

8–10 °C: 11 records
10–12 °C: 377 records
12–14 °C: 336 records
14–16 °C: 3 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Quirijn V, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Julien Tchilinguirian, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Amalia Herrera Grau, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Alex Press, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Common prawn, common prawn, Common Prawn

Names in 4 more languages

German: gewöhnliche Felsengarnele, Gewöhnliche Felsengarnele, Große Felsengarnele, Große Felsgarnele, Sägegarnale, Sägegarnele, Sägergarnele
Spanish: Camarón común, camaron gamba, Camarón serrado, quisquilla
French: bouquet, bouquet commun, crevette, crevette rose, Grande crevette rose
Simplified Chinese: 鋸齒長臂蝦

Other scientific names: Astacus serratus, Cancer captivus, Leander latreillianus, Leander serratus, Melicerta triliana, Palaemon rostratus, Palemon oratelli, Palemon serratus, Palemon treillianus

Similar species

Chinese ditch prawn
Palaemon gravieri
striped river prawn
Palaemon intermedius
Oriental grass shrimp
Palaemon macrodactylus
Red-handed Shrimp
Palaemon serenus
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).
9,821 open-data records from 1903 to 2024.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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