468 THE EDIBLE PRAWN, 
While it lives at some distance from the shore, it cannot be captured in the ordinary shrimp 
nets. “The fishermen call it the Red Shrimp. The spines, or teeth in the upper edge of the 
long beak, do not spring at once from the substance of the beak, but are simply jointed to it, 
so that they can be moved slightly by pressure. A large number of species belong to the 
genus Hippolyte. In these creatures the beak is very large and strong. Several of the Ausop 
Prawns belong to this genus. They derive their popular name from the hump-like manner in 
which the abdomen is raised towards the centre and then bent downwards. Coucu’s Alsop 
(Hippolyte couchii) is perhaps the most common of these beautiful little creatures, and has 
the characteristic hump strongly defined. It may be found plentifully in the shore-pools, 
flitting about the water with a movement much like the flirting and fluttering of a robin 
in a garden, and displaying its beautiful colors to the best advantage. It is a lovely little 
being, very variable in color, but always marked with bright and peculiarly pure hues, mostly 
white, purple, and scarlet. Many of these sop Prawns are charming inhabitants of an 




























































































































































































































































































































































































































EDIBLE PRAWN.—Palemon serratus. 
aquarium, their pellucid bodies and beautiful colors making them fit inhabitants of the 
drawing-room or the conservatory. One species, WuHITE’s sop Prawn (Hippolyte whitei), 
is an especially beautiful creature, being green with a white streak running along the back, 
and having a number of azure specks scattered over the body. 
Even the large Eptnte Prawn (Palemon serratus), the figure of which is drawn of 
natural size, isa beautiful inhabitant of an aquarium. No one who has only seen Prawns on 
the table, red, opaque, and with their tails folded under them, can form the least conception of 
their wonderful beauty while living. As they swim gracefully through the water, the light 
passes through their translucent bodies and their beautifully streaked integuments, rich with 
transparent browns, pinks, and grays of various depths. Their delicate and slender limbs are 
ringed with orange and purple, and stained with pale blue. 
At night, when a lamp is brought into the room, the effect produced by the Prawn is 
really surprising. The large globular eyes glow as if illuminated by some powerful light 
within ; and as the creature comes out of the darkness its eyes alone are visible, as they shine 
like two globes of living fire. 
It is very interesting to watch the habits of this beautiful creature. It is extremely 
voracious, and seems always to be ready for food. I used to feed my own Prawns with the 
bodies of shrimps, hermit-crabs, and other marine crustacea that had died in the aquaria. All 
