What is the difference between a prawn and a shrimp?

Answer 1

Shrimp - have a thin but hard exoskeleton. Their bodies are divided into three segments: head, thorax, and abdomen. The thorax overlaps the other two body segments. They have three pairs of legs in the front and their gills are plate-like in structure.

Prawns - have the same exoskeleton and body segmentation as shrimp. However, in prawns, the head overlaps the thorax, and the thorax overlaps the abdomen. They also have longer legs than shrimp. Finally, the gills of a prawn have a branching structure.

Answer 2

There is no difference, shrimps and prawns are the same thing.

updated answer Saturday 3/21/09: Prawns are often used as game pieces in Chess, although using Prawns makes the chess board slimey and smelly. You can buy Prawns in a Prawn shop, from a Prawn broker. The discussion of Prawns, or photographing of Prawns is called Prawnography.

Answer 3

While they are remotely related, the prawn and lobster are in different biological families. They also look quite different. Lobsters are members of the Nephropidae family. They have 10 legs, with the front 2 legs adapted as large grasping claws. They have a heavy exoskeleton of segmented chitinous plates. They typically use their legs to crawl on the bottom but can swim if they have to. Giant Prawns are members of the Penaeidaefamily, and are very similar to Shrimp. In several cultures, the words prawn and shrimp are used interchangably to refer to either species. Prawns and shrimp have small legs and no claws, and very light and thin exoskeleton plates. Prawns and shrimp live near the bottom, but are swimmers only.