There are hundreds and hundreds of different types of shrimp present in the world; they go from freshwater to saltwater. Most of them are rare; others are not edible for humans.
On average, we can estimate that the edible species of shrimp present nowadays are more than 300.
Making a list of all the types of shrimp present in the world is almost an impossible task, for that reason, in that article, we collect 25 types of shrimps, to give you the possibility to know new kinds of shrimps different from the ones that you are used to seeing.
Here’s the list of the types of shrimps that we are going to see:
- Giant red shrimp
- Blue and red shrimp
- Argentine stiletto shrimp
- Japanese sand shrimp
- Common shrimp
- California shrimp
- Knife shrimp
- Whiskered velvet shrimp
- Jinga shrimp
- Yellow shrimp
- Mobi shrimp
- Sidestripe shrimp
- Northern shrimp
- Coonstripe shrimp
- Ocean shrimp
- Hokkai shrimp
- Aesop shrimp
- Spot shrimp
- Spear shrimp
- Rainbow shrimp
- Deep-water pink shrimp
- Northern brown shrimp
- Red Spotted shrimp
- Northern pink shrimp
- Sakura shrimp
1) Giant red shrimp
The giant red shrimp is primarily present on the eastern Atlantic off Morocco and in the mediterranean sea. It is also present in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, but with a minor presence. The giant red shrimp can reach up to 255 mm ( 9 inches) and live in deep water between 250-1,300 meters.
The giant red shrimp is well known in the USA and around the Mediterranean. The Giant red shrimp has an incredible flavor; soft and delicious are the minimum words associated with that shrimp.
2) Blue and red shrimp
The blue and red shrimp lives mainly in soft mud and deep water that generally goes from 200 meters to 1400 meters.
This species is found throughout the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic water. The maximum size that they can reach is around 220 mm. Like almost every shrimp that leaves in deep water, they share an incredible taste.
3) Argentine stiletto shrimp
As the name can suggest, this type of shrimp is mainly caught along the coast of Argentina and in Uruguay and southern Brazil.
That variant of shrimp is found in the shore water. The size of Argentina stiletto shrimp can reach up to 145 mm
4) Japanese sand shrimp
This is one of the rarest shrimps on this list, and with a high probability of chance, you couldn’t know it.
The Japanese sand shrimp are found only in the northwest Pacific from Siberia to Japan via Korea and China.
That type of shrimp has an important influence on china’s commerce, but not in the rest of the world. This sand shrimp grows to about 68 mm.
5) Common shrimp
The common shrimp lives mainly on sand or muddy bottoms, and opposite from the varieties seen until now, it lives in shallow water, with a depth of 25-50 meters.
This type of shrimp is distributed in the Eastern Atlantic from the white sea to Portugal and the Mediterranean and Black sea.
The size of the common shrimp is relatively small; they can grow a maximum of 90 mm.
6) California shrimp
The California shrimp is relative to the common shrimp; they share the same characteristics of living in shallow water. It is commonly found on sandy and mud bottoms with a depth of 50 meters.
The California shrimp can be found only in the Eastern pacific form from Alaska to southern California. As the name suggests, the California shrimp is considered the most common variable of shrimp that is found in that zone. The size of California shrimp can reach up to 80 mm.
7) Knife shrimp
The knife shrimp is probably one of the species of shrimp that you have never heard of before. That type of shrimp is found in south Africa and commerced on the Indian coast.
The knife shrimp live in a soft mud sea, in water with an average depth of 400 meters. The maximum size that they can reach is around 150 mm.
8) Whiskered velvet shrimp
Whiskered velvet shrimp is a type of shrimp with a huge influence in Japan and other nearby countries.
This shrimp species is also called red rice shrimp, and it is commercially important in the Inland sea of Japan, Taiwan, and other parts of Asia. It lived mainly on muddy bottoms and deepened on the places; it might be caught in a rocky area.
It lives in shallow water, around 20 to 80 meters, and its size can reach a maximum of 108 mm.
9) Jinga shrimp
The jinga shrimp is an important type of shrimp with a huge commercial influence in Asian countries.
This species of shrimp is also known as Indian brown. It is versatile in its use, and it has good taste. It is mainly caught in muddy bottoms with a depth that ranges from 50-90 meters.
The jinga shrimp can be considered a medium-type shrimp; in fact, its length can reach more than 170 mm, and depending on the zone where it is caught, it can reach up to 220 mm.
10) Yellow shrimp
Always remaining in Asia, the yellow shrimp is one of the fastest-growing types of shrimp. This species of shrimp can reach its full size in only three months. It is an essential shrimp for the commerce of Pakistan and Northwest India, where it is mainly exported frozen.
The yellow shrimp is found in seawater of 90 meters and distributed in the Indo-west Pacific region.
The yellow shrimps can grow up to130 to 150 mm.
See also :
11) Moyebi shrimp
The moyebi shrimp is caught on the coast of Malaya and Singapore, with some small influence on the coast of the Philippines.
It is a small shrimp; in fact, its size can reach a maximum of 97 mm.
12) Sidestripe shrimp
The side stripe is not as popular as other types of shrimp present in the Eastern Pacific, but its commercial influence and delicious taste have deserved a place on the list.
This marine species lives in the Easter pacific, in depths ranging from 30 meters to 180 meters.
It is considered a large shrimp species; in fact, its size can reach up to 200 mm.
13) Northern shrimp
The northern shrimp can be considered one of the most important types of shrimp present in the cold water area.
The name of that species of shrimp already tells everything. This species can be found in all the northern part of the world, but with major influence on Scandinavia and Greenland. The north shrimp prefer the clay and mud bottoms, with a seawater depth of 20 and 1380 meters.
Valuable catches are done in the Pacific and Alaska sea. Anyway, the large quantity is not the only reason why northern shrimp is famous worldwide.
But, it also has a delightful taste and firm meat, with an attractive pink color. The average size of the northern shrimp is around 165 mm on average.
14) Coonstripe shrimp
The coonstripe shrimp lives in the North Pacific and Bering sea, into a depth between 5 to 400 meters.
It has an important taste and is sold at a reasonable price. The coonstripe shrimp has the privilege to be one of the largest cold water species of shrimps, with an average size that can go up to 209 mm.
15) Ocean shrimp
The Ocean shrimp are found in the Eastern Pacific, in a marine environment with sand and mud. It lives at depths between 30 to 450 meters, and it is generally fished between a depth of 70 and 150 meters.
It is largerly consumed in the USA coast, especially in California, where it is imported in large quantities. The color of the ocean shrimp is darker pink, and its flavor is similar to other types of shrimp present in the Pacific.
16) Hokkai shrimp
The hokkai shrimp is a particular species of shrimp that you have never heard of.
The species can be found in a restricted area from southern Siberia, Korea, until the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
It lives mainly in shallow water, into a range of depths of 10 meters. As the name suggests, this shrimp species has an important influence in the northern part of japan and south Korea.
The average size they can reach goes to a maximum of 157 mm.
17) Aesop shrimp
This shrimp species is very famous along the coast of the united kingdom; in the majority of the case, they are caught in water with a depth of 40 to 700 meters, so very variable.
The Aesop shrimp prefer the hard bottom, such as gravel or rock. They can reach a maximum length of 160 mm
18) Spot shrimp
The spot shrimp is mainly caught in traps along the coast of British Columbia. It is one of the most prominent species of shrimp; in fact, the spot shrimp can reach 253 mm in length.
The ranges where the spot shrimp lives are between 4 to 400 meters.
19) spear shrimp
Passing again on the Asia country, we have the spear shrimp, a marine species that live in shallow water with an average of 100 meters.
It can be considered an important shrimp for the Asian market regarding Pakistan, India, and Thailand.
The ranges of size are variable; some species of spear shrimp can reach more than 135 mm.
20) Rainbow shrimp
The rainbow shrimp has a particular body, very different from the common shrimp that we are used to seeing.
It has a large body and comparatively small tails, which have discouraged commercial exploitation in Australia and other countries.
It is mainly found on the sea with a depth of 100 meters, and the larger species of that shrimp ( that is, the female ) can grow to 170 mm.
21) Deep-Water pink shrimp
Deep-Water pink shrimp is mainly found in the easter Atlantic, Portugal, and the mediterranean sea.
This type of shrimp prefers mud and sand bottoms and lives in in-depth water that ranges from 150 to 400 meters.
This shrimp species can be considered one of the most important commercially on the Mediterranean coasts, especially in Spain, France, and Italy.
The considerable influence of it is due to its fantastic taste. The size of the deep-water rose shrimp can reach 160 mm.
22) Northern brown shrimp
We cannot continue our list without naming the world’s most important commercial shrimp species.
It is the most important type of shrimp for most of the countries of the USA; the taste is rather bland, and the meat texture firm.
The northern brown shrimp lives in depths from 4 to 160 meters, but they can be found in depths of 50 meters in most cases.
They prefer to stay on mud or peat bottom, but it is also common to find them in clay as well.
23) Red-spotted shrimp
The red-spotted shrimp is one of the most important shrimp present in the Guianas and northern Brazil.
It is mainly found in variable depth water that goes from 350 meters to 50 meters.
The size of the red-spotted shrimp can grow to 191 mm.
24) Northern pink shrimp
Another shrimp species commercialized mainly in the USA and Mexico, the northern pink shrimp, has a sweet flavor. Most of it is now sold frozen, raw headless.
It is mainly found in the western Atlantic from Maryland to Texas along the whole coast of Mexico.
The northern pink shrimp can reach 280 mm in size.
25) Sakura shrimp
We close our list of different types of shrimp with another particular shrimp, the sakura.
The sakura shrimp is commercially important in Japan; leaving out the fact of their decline, they are still considered an important type of shrimp in Japan.
The sakura shrimp are usually boiled in seawater and dried for consumption or export.
It grows to only 48 mm in length, and its flavor is considered very good.
Conclusion
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, listing all the types of shrimp is very hard and almost impossible. With this collection of shrimp, we wanted to insert various types of shrimp that are not usually found in our market by giving a more open overview of other types of shrimp present worldwide.
