Spot prawn Facts
Spot prawn Facts
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| Interesting Spot prawn Facts: |
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| Spot prawn can reach more than 9 inches in length. Females are larger than males. |
| Spot prawn is reddish-brown colored. It has white stripes on the legs and white spots on the tail (hence the name "spot prawn"). Spot prawn is able to change the color of the body to blend with the colors of its environment. |
| Spot prawn discards exoskeleton (outer shell) several times in a lifetime, during the periods of intense growth. |
| Spot prawn has curved body, beady eyes and muscular tail. Anterior part of the shell (which covers the head) is called carapace. It bears long, serrated projection, called rostrum, that is equipped with teeth. |
| Spot prawn has 5 pairs of legs called "pereopods" on the thorax. They are used for walking and feeding. First pair of pereopods ends with pincers. Spot prawn also has 5 pairs of swimming legs called "pleopods", located on the abdomen. |
| Spot prawn migrates toward the shallower waters during the night to find food. |
| Spot prawn eats plankton, algae, worms, sponges, mollusks and small shrimps. |
| Spot prawn migrates into deeper waters during the day. It often hides buried in the sand (to avoid predators). |
| Natural enemies of spot prawns are squids, fish (halibut, cod, flounders and salmon) and humans. |
| Mating season of spot prawns usually starts in October. Spot prawns migrate toward the shallower waters and mate on a depth of 500 to 700 feet. |
| Females are able to produce 4.000 to 5.000 eggs per season. Fertilization of eggs takes place in the water. Specialized hairs on pleopods, called "setae", are designed for carrying the eggs. Female carries fertilized eggs usually 4 to 5 months (until they hatch). |
| Spot prawns are part of plankton during the larval stage, which usually lasts 3 months. After that period, juvenile spot prawns swim and settle on the ocean floor. |
| Juveniles inhabit shallow waters during the summer. They grow quickly and usually reach sexual maturity at the age of 6 to 7 months. |
| Most spot prawns spend first two years of the life as males. When they reach 8.4 inches in length, spot prawns transform into females. Males can mate few times in a lifetime, while females mate only once. |
| Spot prawn can survive 4 to 5 years in the wild. |
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