blue-legged king prawn
Penaeus (Oleopenaeus) latisulcatus
- Usual depth9–56 m
- Water temperature16–29 °C
- Best monthsJuly, August, and October
- How commonOccasional
About this species
The western king prawn is an edible dendrobranch prawn endemic to western and southern Australia. Its scientific name is Penaeus latisulcatus; it has been classified in the genus Melicertus, and is currently treated in the subgenus Oleopenaeus along with P. (O.) hathor and the eastern king prawn P. (O.) plebejus. It is caught by commercial fishers for human food.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Western king prawn”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 2 records
- February: 2 records
- March: 2 records
- April: 3 records
- May: 1 records
- June: 3 records
- July: 6 records
- August: 6 records
- September: 4 records
- October: 5 records
- November: 5 records
- December: 3 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 9–56 m · Deepest record: 63 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 16–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- blue-legged king prawn, western king prawn
Names in 3 more languages
- German
- Westliche Königsgarnele
- Japanese
- フトミゾエビ, フトミゾエビ（シンチュウエビ）
- Korean
- 남방보리새우
Other scientific names: Melicertus latisulcatus, Penaeus latisulcatus
Similar species
- Asian tiger shrimp
Penaeus (Penaeus) monodon
- Endeavour shrimp
Metapenaeus endeavouri
- southern velvet prawn
Metapenaeopsis palmensis
- Greasyback shrimp
Metapenaeus ensis
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).
- 313 open-data records from 1896 to 2003.
- Species data updated October 27, 2026.
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