What we mostly know about shrimp is that they are quite tasty, but at the same time quite small. Meanwhile, there are species of very large as well as giant shrimp. In this article we will talk about what they are called, where they are found and how they live.

Getting to know the view

Shrimp belong to the crustaceans and order Decapods. It should be noted that these living creatures live in almost all seas, and some species have even mastered and adapted to fresh waters and got along quite well with them.

Not all shrimp are as small as we are used to seeing on store shelves. Adults of some species can easily reach a length of 30 centimeters. Only in Russian Far East There are more than a hundred species of these crustaceans, and not all of them are small and defenseless.

An amazing feature of shrimps is their voluntary hermaphroditism, that is, young individuals may well change sex from male to female (on the contrary, never!) if the “demographic” situation requires it in the interests of continuation of the species.

Shrimp live quietly, peacefully, sedentary, rarely change their usual habitat, and do not migrate. They rest for a long time, burying themselves in the sand or algae at the bottom, and come out mainly to hunt for small mollusks.

Shrimp are caught in small quantities, obtained in industrial scale, are grown on special farms, and all because the taste of the meat of these crustaceans has conquered humanity. True, not everyone eats them. Jews, for religious reasons, do not eat arthropods. Supporters of Islam cannot come to a consensus on whether it is permissible to eat shrimp or whether it is better to abstain from them.

The meat of decapod crustaceans has delicate taste and specific pleasant aroma. It is rich in protein and calcium, it is not a high-calorie product, and therefore is especially valued by supporters healthy eating and dieters. All over the world, shrimp meat is considered a delicacy.

These crustaceans are often said to be tasty, but very small. You just won’t find big ones on store shelves in Russia. You won't find more tiger shrimp in the supermarket. This does not mean that brindles are the largest in the world. For the curious, we have compiled a small rating of the largest shrimp on the planet.

Odontodactylus scyllarus - Peacock shrimp

This amazing creature is currently considered the largest shrimp caught by humans. Its length reaches 40 centimeters. Almost half a meter long shrimp is more than twice the size of large ones tiger shrimp, which in best case scenario reach only 20 centimeters.

The giant crustacean is a predator - nature has endowed it with large claws, which it uses perfectly during hunting and defense in case of danger.

The peacock shrimp hunts like a real “special forces” crustacean, first constructing a shelter for itself in the sand. She uses her claws to break the shell of a mussel in order to eat its meat. In times of hunger, it can also attack octopuses. She cannot eat them, but she can easily maim them.

This species is not only huge, but also unique in its kind. The vision of peacock shrimp is amazing. They can see in several ranges at once - optical, infrared and ultraviolet.

They themselves are able to glow in the dark. When approaching potential danger, smart peacock shrimp can send flickering, glowing signals from their own eyes. These signals are received by other representatives of the species and manage to take defensive or attacking positions, and sometimes simply hide out of harm’s way.

Although hiding is not really their style. These are aggressive and very determined crustaceans, which, in addition to the light “alarm”, have a unique blow. Its speed is so great that it is impossible to see it with ordinary eyes. While a person blinks once, the peacock shrimp inflicts about 50 blows on the enemy or prey. Only marine biologists, who used slow motion, were able to calculate the fish. The speed at which the limb is thrown out is 70-80 kilometers per hour (comparable to the movement of a car).

But the victim is struck not only by a series of blows, but also by kinetic impact. This fast movement heats small particles of water to high temperatures, the resulting cavitation bubble causes a large explosion when it touches the victim. If very aggressive big shrimp if a person provokes it, he may well lose his fingers. They “communicate” with such individuals only while wearing a special thick glove.

Attempts to keep such a shrimp in an aquarium were made, but almost always ended in fiasco - first, the mantis shrimp or mantis shrimp (names synonymous with the peacock shrimp) killed all the inhabitants of the aquarium, and then often broke the glass, since a blow with a claw on the aquarium wall can be compared with a gunshot from a twenty-second caliber pistol.

For laboratory research, these shrimp are placed in special containers made from particularly durable plastic.

And there is something to explore in them. Biologists and anatomists are actively interested in the special unique abilities of this very large inhabitant of the seas. The amazing ability to see in three spectra gave scientists the idea to create a microscope in which the optics could do the same thing, and would be identical to the structure of the peacock shrimp's eye. Such a technique would make it possible to see even cancer cells, and at the very early stages of their development.

Military personnel around the world are interested in the structure of the claw and the mechanisms for developing super-speed of impact. In any case, American marine biologists working for the US Department of Defense have already begun attempts to create such an artificial claw-sledgehammer that could become part of the exosuit of a new generation soldier.

New Zealand shrimp

In terms of size, this type of crustacean can be safely placed in second place in the ranking. Its length reaches 28 centimeters. Before the discovery of peacock shrimp, she was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the official representative of the big view shrimp.

It was first caught off the coast of New Zealand. For a long time, scientists could not understand what specific species to classify the catch that was collected in traps from the sea. This species has not yet been studied well enough to say anything about the characteristics of the huge crustaceans, but research continues.

King prawns

They are so called because of their considerable size, which rightfully allows this type of crustacean to be considered one of the largest. The length of the king prawn is on average 20-25 centimeters. All large shrimp are usually called king, although, from the point of view of biologists, this is inaccurate. “King” shrimps do not exist as a species; it is, so to speak, tradename large individuals.

This includes brindle black shrimp, which under favorable conditions can grow up to 35 centimeters in length. Penaeus monodon - tiger shrimp was discovered back in the 18th century. She lives in the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Her visual sensitivity is low - she has only an unpaired parietal eye, which, if anything, is capable of distinguishing light from darkness, and also partially capturing the ultraviolet spectrum. Feeds on small plankton. If she manages to find a dead fish, then the mollusk eats it, not even leaving scales - everything is suitable for food.

The crustacean got its name from the characteristic “tiger” stripes on its body.

Where do the big ones in the store come from?

You won't find a giant peacock shrimp on a supermarket shelf. But king prawns and their smaller relatives are presented in a large assortment.

Small crustaceans mainly live in cold seas, larger ones - in warm waters. Every year, the level of global production of large individuals is about a million tons per year. Almost two-thirds of this volume are tiger shrimp, which are grown on special shrimp farms.

But the farms are causing irreparable harm ecology of the sea and land, because they require cutting down mangrove forests. And in the natural environment there are fewer and fewer large individuals left. Eight years ago, Greenpeace listed the tiger subspecies as a special risk group for extinction. They are overcaught because they are commercially available and relatively inexpensive. Peacock shrimp meat is also tasty and sweetish, but it is very, very expensive, and is considered one of the most inaccessible delicacies in the world.

You will learn how to cook tiger prawns from the video below.

Oleg, it’s easy to get lost in all the diversity of the shrimp world. How many types of shrimp are there and how do they differ?
There are about 2000 species in nature shrimp. They can all be divided into two groups - cold-water and warm-water. Externally, they differ in size - cold-water ones are much smaller.

Are cold-water shrimp our usual shrimp?
You can say that. The most commonly found shrimp are northern red shrimp, with northern chilim and red comb shrimp also common. By the way, they are red even when raw. These shrimp are boiled alive in sea water and immediately frozen after boiling. Distinguish boiled shrimp from a raw one you can follow the tail: in a boiled one it curls, but in a raw one the tail is straight. But here it is important to know that northern shrimp are supplied to Russia only boiled frozen, and such shrimp have a straight tail - a sign that the shrimp was boiled already dead.

Interesting point - Russian fishermen shrimp they catch, but supply them to the USA, South Korea and Japan, and we buy shrimp caught by the Danes and Canadians, they say it is profitable from an economic point of view.

Another nuance concerns the size or “ caliber» shrimp. On the packaging you can find the following numbers - 50/70 ( pieces per kilogram - approx. ed.), 70/90 and 90/120 The higher the number, the smaller the shrimp. So, cold-water shrimp are small, and size 70/90 is already rare for them. Therefore, I advise you to buy shrimp of 90/120 caliber, for all others more ice than meat.

So we have to be content with the smallest shrimp?
Small doesn't mean bad. On the contrary, the smaller the shrimp, the juicier their meat and brighter taste. For this reason, I like northern shrimp much more than tropical ones. Moreover, cold-water shrimp are caught in their natural habitat, while warm-water shrimp are grown on an industrial scale on farms.

Are you saying that warm water shrimp are inferior?
I would say that they are not for everyone, and besides, it is really easy to get confused when choosing them. For example, " royal» Shrimp do not exist in nature. All large warm water bodies are united under this name. shrimps, with the exception of tiger ones, so named because of the specific color of the shell.

IN different countries their own king prawns - there are white Pacific, Indian, Chinese, Japanese sweet shrimp, Atlantic red and even giant freshwater shrimp that live in South-East Asia. But only 20% of the total king prawns are caught in their natural habitat. The remaining 80% comes from farms where shrimp are bred in special ponds.

Where do king prawns come from in Russia?
We mainly source shrimp grown in China, India and Bangladesh. Farmed shrimp are always larger than wild shrimp, and the manufacturer’s packaging should indicate that this is a product of aquaculture. Boiled frozen king prawns are sold in three types - uncut, with the shell without a head, or completely peeled. By the way, despite the impressive size - 25-30 cm in length, meat in king prawn only 30% of the total weight, the rest is the head.

Are tiger shrimp farmed too?
To a lesser extent than king shrimp, but farmed tiger shrimp are supplied to Russia. Black tiger shrimp are brought from India and China, and ordinary shrimp are brought from Indonesia and Thailand. They differ in color - ordinary ones have dark stripes on a light carapace, while black ones have the opposite.
The size of tiger prawns is even larger than that of king prawns - 30-35 cm, and meat is 50% of the total weight. These shrimp are sold raw, with or without heads. They look very impressive with the head on, and are often used to decorate dishes.

What's so scary about farmed shrimp?
Some people don't like the taste it gets. shrimp, grown on artificial feed. Some are afraid that they are being bred using stimulants, dyes and antibiotics. I just like northern shrimp more - they are tastier and useful substances there is much more in them. But all this is true only if the shrimp is fresh.

What should fresh shrimp taste like?
Fresh shrimp must be properly frozen. The coloring should be even, the ice glaze should be thin, and the tail should be pressed against the belly. White spots on the shell or snow flakes in the packaging mean that shrimps defrosted several times. Pay attention to the shrimp's head, if there is one. Pregnant shrimp have a brown head; their meat is the most delicious and healthy. A green head indicates that the shrimp was feeding on algae and special kind plankton. But a black head indicates a serious illness; eating such a shrimp is dangerous to health. Black spots on the shell are also unacceptable.

Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis).
A type of shrimp that lives in the cold parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Also known as pink shrimp, deep sea shrimp, great northern shrimp.
They live at a depth of 20-1330 meters, usually on soft silty soils, in water with a temperature of 2-14 °C. Life expectancy is 8 years, males can reach a length of 120 mm, females - 165 mm.
Their largest global suppliers are countries such as Greenland, Canada, Denmark, and Russia.
And although they are quite small and not exotic appearance, in terms of taste, many gourmets give undeniable preference to these crustaceans. After all, northern shrimp meat is the sweetest and most nutritious.
Cold-water shrimp, wild, grows in natural conditions and feeds on environmentally friendly plankton, which has the best effect on its consumer qualities.
Almost all shrimp caught in the Far East ends up on foreign markets, with the exception of illegal products from coastal fisheries. Eat with pleasure. If this product is from the Atlantic, then it was obtained legally. All shrimp are supplied to the Russian wholesale market boiled and frozen. Our fishermen supply raw-frozen shrimp to the Japanese market. Can be found on sale frozen unpeeled shrimp, and shrimp meat in brine or frozen.
Caught in clean icy waters at a depth of 200-500 meters using a net, 100% natural and extraordinary delicious shrimp immediately prepared and frozen using the most modern equipment. This equipment undergoes regular control at the state level.
Preparation, sorting and packaging into standard 5kg boxes occurs within minutes of the shrimp being caught. The highest quality and excellent taste of the shrimp are guaranteed, since cooking and freezing at -26°C is carried out almost instantly.
When the ship returns to port, the shrimp are ready for sale: they are unloaded and sent to world markets in refrigerated containers.
Cold water shrimp is a guaranteed product High Quality thanks to the icy northern waters, careful fishing and modern technologies processing.

Tiger shrimp (Penaeus kerathurus).
Natural range: eastern coast of Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Southeast Asia and the Sea of ​​Japan. There are tiger shrimps three types: common, black and green tiger shrimp.
The shrimp got its name from the black stripes all over its body. Their meat is very juicy and is the most delicate delicacy. They can reach a body length of 36 cm and a weight of 650 grams, which makes this shrimp the largest representative of the shrimp suborder.
Since the 90s of the 20th century, the world production of tiger shrimp is about 800-900 thousand tons per year, and over two-thirds of the production is provided by shrimp farms where they are actively bred (China, Thailand, India, Vietnam, Brazil). Moreover, farmed shrimp are always meatier and larger than their counterparts living in wildlife. Shrimp are very easy to prepare. Tiger prawns are consumed mainly boiled. Boil them for 5-7 minutes in salted boiling water. As soon as these seafood floated to the surface and began orange color, they can be taken out. You must not overcook the product, otherwise the meat will be tough and lose its taste qualities. You can grill tiger prawns or cook them in broth with spices. They are good cooked in the oriental way: for this you need to marinate the seafood in fish sauce and garlic and then fry. They are very widely used in the preparation of salads and seafood cocktails.

King shrimp (Penaeus vannamei).
Relatively few king prawns are caught in their natural habitat. Most of these crustaceans, approximately 80% of the total, are farmed in special ponds.
Shrimp aquaculture is based on collecting larvae from the sea and raising them in seawater ponds. King prawns arriving at Russian market, are grown on farms in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand, Ecuador and some other countries. In 2008, their exports to Russia exceeded 2 thousand tons.
When raw, vannamei shrimp is gray in color; after boiling, the color turns bright red. Vannamei shrimp is sometimes called white shrimp because it is completely translucent in the light. They are valued for big size And unusual taste. When buying king prawns in our country, remember that they are not caught at sea, but grown in farms that bring significant income to transnational corporations. At the same time, to create farms, mangroves are destroyed, causing enormous damage to natural ecosystems. Traditional fishermen are also suffering. In addition, for products entering the Russian market, there is no guarantee that antibiotics, growth stimulants and genetically derived feed were not used when growing shrimp. modified products. By the way, king prawns are inferior in taste to northern prawns. Therefore, we do not recommend purchasing products that are imported to Russia. But if while traveling you are offered dishes made from shrimp, which were caught by the labor of local fishermen, that’s a different matter. Avoid buying!
Many varieties of king prawns are considered more suitable for artificial cultivation than, for example, tiger prawns. This is due to their high resistance to various diseases and low production costs. Typically, king prawns are marketed in raw-frozen and cooked-frozen forms.

Tiger prawns are considered a wonderful treat among seafood lovers. They grow very quickly, reaching quite decent sizes. These decapods got their name due to the transverse stripes on the body and tail. As for the color of these same stripes, and of the shrimp in general, it depends on its variety.

There are many species of tiger shrimp in the world. The most popular of them are ordinary, black and green. All of them are distinguished by juiciness, meatiness and excellent taste. Interestingly, two-thirds of tiger shrimp are grown on farms, where sometimes it is possible to obtain individuals weighing 1 kg. It is not surprising that these giants are in demand all over the world.

Common tiger shrimp(lat. Penaeus kerathurus) live in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The largest colonies are found in the Adriatic. Their head is much smaller than that of freshwater king prawns, but the tail, on the contrary, is much larger. Its weight occupies half of the mass of the entire body.

The tail of common tiger shrimp has transverse stripes. It is curious that in females they are green, but in males they are pink, not at all boyish, in color. True, if you buy these shrimp frozen in a supermarket, you will not find any stripes on their body - when the shrimp dies, its decoration disappears.

They settle at a depth of 40 to 60 meters. During daylight hours they hide, burying themselves in the sand, and at night they go in search of food. Females reach a length of 9-20 cm. When breeding, they do not need to carry eggs along their abdomen, since they have adapted to lay them on the seabed. The largest producing countries of common tiger shrimp are Vietnam and Thailand.

Black tiger shrimp(lat. Penaeus Monodon) live in the western Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic coasts of the United States. They are artificially bred in countries such as China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia. This business is quite profitable, since on farms some individuals reach a length of 36 cm and weigh a whole kilogram.

This variety is distinguished by a black shell and light transverse stripes. Interestingly, black tiger shrimp reproduce exclusively in their natural environment. To do this, their wild relatives come to spawn in warm coastal lagoons. Naturally, resourceful farmers have long studied all their favorite spawning places.

When it’s time for reproduction, special bamboo poles with algae tied to them are placed in the water. It is around them that young larvae gather. People can only collect them with nets and transfer them to special reservoirs.

Green tiger prawns found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In addition, through the Suez Canal they penetrated into the Mediterranean, where they successfully multiplied and took root. Their body color is light brown with dark transverse stripes. Scattered throughout the shell are small green patches of the different shapes. Females of this species grow up to 23 cm, they are juicier and fleshier than males.

Of course, the list of varieties is not limited to just the three named. Warm sea and ocean waters have also become a haven for brown (lat. Panaeus Esculentus), Japanese (lat. Panaeus Japonicus) and blue (lat. Penaeus stylirostris) tiger shrimp.

Until recently, we only had one shrimp - beer shrimp. But life has become better, life has become more fun, and now even the most modest Russian stores offer 2-3 types of frozen shrimp, and in reputable supermarkets the shrimp are on ice and are called “chilled.” TOWhat kind of shrimp do we sell and how to choose them?

How many types of shrimp are there and how do they differ?
There are about 2000 species in nature shrimp. They can all be divided into two groups - cold-water and warm-water. Externally, they differ in size - cold-water ones are much smaller.

Are cold-water shrimp our usual shrimp?
You can say that. The most commonly found shrimp are northern red shrimp, with northern chilim and red comb shrimp also common. By the way, they are red even when raw. These shrimp are boiled alive in sea water and immediately frozen after boiling. You can tell a cooked shrimp from a raw one by tail: the boiled one has a curl, while the raw one has a straight tail. But here it is important to know that northern shrimp are supplied to Russia only boiled frozen, and such shrimp have a straight tail - a sign that the shrimp was boiled already dead.

Interesting point - Russian fishermen shrimp they catch, but supply them to the USA, South Korea and Japan, and we buy shrimp caught by the Danes and Canadians, they say it is profitable from an economic point of view.

Another nuance concerns the size or “ caliber» shrimp. On the packaging you can find the following numbers - 50/70 ( pieces per kilogram - approx. ed.), 70/90 and 90/120 The higher the number, the smaller the shrimp. So, cold-water shrimp are small, and size 70/90 is already rare for them. Therefore, I advise you to buy 90/120 caliber shrimp, all the others have more ice than meat.

So we have to be content with the smallest shrimp?
Small doesn't mean bad. On the contrary, the smaller the shrimp, the juicier their meat and the brighter their taste. For this reason, I like northern shrimp much more than tropical ones. Moreover, cold-water shrimp are caught in their natural habitat, while warm-water shrimp are grown on an industrial scale on farms.

Are you saying that warm water shrimp are inferior?
I would say that they are not for everyone, and besides, it is really easy to get confused when choosing them. For example, " royal» Shrimp do not exist in nature. All large warm water bodies are united under this name. shrimps, with the exception of tiger ones, so named because of the specific color of the shell.

Different countries have their own king prawns - there are white Pacific, Indian, Chinese, Japanese sweet shrimp, Atlantic red and even giant freshwater shrimp that live in Southeast Asia. But only 20% of the total king prawns are caught in their natural habitat. The remaining 80% comes from farms where shrimp are bred in special ponds.

Where do king prawns come from in Russia?
We mainly source shrimp grown in China, India and Bangladesh. Farmed shrimp are always larger than wild shrimp, and the manufacturer’s packaging should indicate that this is a product of aquaculture. Boiled frozen king prawns are sold in three types - uncut, with the shell without a head, or completely peeled. By the way, despite its impressive size - 25-30 cm in length, the meat in a king prawn is only 30% of the total weight, the rest is the head.

Are tiger shrimp farmed too?
To a lesser extent than king shrimp, but farmed tiger shrimp are supplied to Russia. Black tiger shrimp are brought from India and China, and ordinary shrimp are brought from Indonesia and Thailand. They differ in color - ordinary ones have dark stripes on a light carapace, while black ones have the opposite.
The size of tiger prawns is even larger than that of king prawns - 30-35 cm, and meat is 50% of the total weight. These shrimp are sold raw, with or without heads. They look very impressive with the head on, and are often used to decorate dishes.

What's so scary about farmed shrimp?
Some people don't like the taste it gets. shrimp, grown on artificial feed. Some are afraid that they are being bred using stimulants, dyes and antibiotics. I just like northern shrimp better - they are tastier and have much more nutrients. But all this is true only if the shrimp is fresh.

What should fresh shrimp taste like?
Fresh shrimp must be properly frozen. The coloring should be even, the ice glaze should be thin, and the tail should be pressed against the belly. White spots on the shell or snow flakes in the packaging mean that shrimps defrosted several times. Pay attention to the shrimp's head, if there is one. Pregnant shrimp have a brown head; their meat is the most delicious and healthy. A green head indicates that the shrimp fed on algae and a special type of plankton. But a black head indicates a serious illness; eating such a shrimp is dangerous to health. Black spots on the shell are also unacceptable.