Brown Shrimp

Appearance

Adults are typically 30–50 mm long, although individuals up to 90 mm have been recorded. The animals have cryptic colouration, being a sandy brown colour, which can be changed to match the environment. They live in shallow water, which can also be slightly brackish, and feed nocturnally. During the day, they remain buried in the sand to escape predatory birds and fish, with only their antennae protruding.

"Crangon" is classified in the family Crangonidae, and shares the family's characteristic subchelate first pereiopods and short rostrum.

Naming

Its common names include brown shrimp, common shrimp, bay shrimp, and sand shrimp, while translation of its French name ' sometimes leads to the English version grey shrimp.

Distribution

"C. crangon" has a wide range, extending across the northeastern Atlantic Ocean from the White Sea in the north of Russia to the coast of Morocco, including the Baltic Sea, as well as occurring throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Despite its wide range, however, little gene flow occurs across certain natural barriers, such as the Strait of Gibraltar or the Bosphorus. The populations in the western Mediterranean Sea are thought to be the oldest, with the species' spread across the north Atlantic thought to postdate the Pleistocene.

Habitat

Adults live epibenthically especially in the shallow waters of estuaries or near the coast. It is generally highly abundant, and has a significant effect on the ecosystems where it lives.

Food

The brown shrimp enjoys great popularity in Belgium, the Netherlands, northern Germany, and Denmark.

Shrimp in general are known as "garnalen" in Dutch. It is the basis of the dish "tomate-crevettes", where the shrimp are mixed with mayonnaise and served in a hollowed-out uncooked tomato. The shrimp croquette is another Belgian speciality; the shrimp are in the interior of the battered croquette along with béchamel sauce. Freshly cooked, unpeeled brown shrimp are often served as a snack accompanying beer, typically a sour ale or Flemish red such as Rodenbach.

In Lancashire, England, the brown shrimp is mixed with butter and spices to make potted shrimps, a dish traditionally eaten with bread.