Difference between prawn and crayfish
Prawn vs crayfish:
Seafood are lovely things and an exotic delicacy that many would not mind indulging in almost everyday of their lives. Prawn and crayfish are two types of seafood that any sea food lover would be very much familiar with. tellin the difference between these two types may be too much of a hassle at times and yet, it is extremely important to have a comprehensive knowledge regarding both these scrumptious creatures in order to tell them apart.
What is prawn?
Belonging to the order Decapoda and the suborder Dendrobranchiata, prawns possess a body that is divided in to three sections such as head, thorax, and abdomen of which the head overlaps the thorax and the thorax overlaps the abdomen with lameller gills with a plate-like structure. They are more often farmed in Asia and also, the French langoustine, Spanish langostino and Caribbean lobsterette, as well as the Italian scampi all refer to various prawn types available in the world today. The different varieties of prawns which are more popularly available in the market are tiger, deep water, bay, and king prawns
What is crayfish?
Crawfish who is a is a decapod crustacean is a member of the crustacean family who is found in plenty in freshwater. They belong to the Parastacoidea and Astacoidea superfamilies and they are known to feed on both living and dead plants and animals. Their bodies are combined in two parts referred to as the cephalothorax and the abdomen which consists of two appendages as well. An average craw fish is known to grow up to 17.5 centimeters in length. They exist in many colors such as blue, black, brown, red, pink, gray and purple. While some crawfish are single colored, other may have spots or dots of other colors as well along their shells.
What is the difference between crayfish and prawn?
The difference between crayfish and prawns can be ascertained at the very first glance itself as the two creatures while having some resemblance to one another, are so much unalike. For starters, crayfish are often much bigger than a prawn which is rather small in size. While the size may be helpful, the places where these two species can be found may prove to be helpful when it comes to seeking out the differences between the two. Crayfish are known to be freshwater crustaceans while prawns are known to be saltwater crusteceans. Crayfish are commonly found in fresh waters that do not freeze at the bottom such as streams and brooks. Prawns on the other hand are mostly found in saltwater while certain specis can be found in freshwater as well.
The nature of the gills is also different in the two species. Crayfish have featherlike gills whereas prawns are seen to be having branching gills. Also, prawns have claws on their three pairs of feet which cannot be seen on any other crustacean, including the crayfish. The way in which they breed is quite different too. Crayfish, just like any crustacean would brood their eggs on Pleopads. Prawns on the other hand are known to release their eggs on to water.
When it comes to the taste, prawn meat is much sweeter than crayfish meat which is the reason that many people prefer prawns to crayfish. When tracing the origins and the history of these two species, fossils dating back to 250 million years have been found all over the world whereas crayfish fossils are quite rare and those that are found only go back about 30 million years. Prawns also have seven families which is quite a large family tree whereas the family of crayfish does not spread that far. Crayfish only have three families of which two can be found in Northern Hemisphere while one can be found in the Southern Hemisphere.
Summary
|
Tags: Barnacle, clam, conch, crawfish, crayfish, crustacean, gills, lobster, mollusk, mussel, oyster, piddock, prawn, scallop, shellfish, shrimp, snail, whelk
