Prawn vs. Lobster

By Jaxson

Main Difference

The main difference between Prawn and Lobster is that the Prawn is a common name applied to large swimming crustaceans and Lobster is a family of crustaceans

  • Prawn

    Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (i.e. a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten.The term prawn is used particularly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Commonwealth nations, for large swimming crustaceans or shrimp, especially those with commercial significance in the fishing industry. Shrimp that fall in this category often belong to the suborder Dendrobranchiata. In North America, the term is used less frequently, typically for freshwater shrimp. The terms shrimp and prawn themselves lack scientific standing. Over the years, the way shrimp and prawn are used has changed, and nowadays the terms are almost interchangeable.

  • Lobster

    Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, sometimes also Homaridae) of large marine crustaceans.

    Lobsters have long bodies with muscular tails, and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, which are usually much larger than the others. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate. Commercially important species include two species of Homarus (which looks more like the stereotypical lobster) from the northern Atlantic Ocean, and scampi (which looks more like a shrimp, or a “mini lobster”) – the Northern Hemisphere genus Nephrops and the Southern Hemisphere genus Metanephrops. Although several other groups of crustaceans have the word “lobster” in their names, the unqualified term “lobster” generally refers to the clawed lobsters of the family Nephropidae. Clawed lobsters are not closely related to spiny lobsters or slipper lobsters, which have no claws (chelae), or to squat lobsters. The closest living relatives of clawed lobsters are the reef lobsters and the three families of freshwater crayfish.

Wikipedia
  • Prawn (noun)

    A shrimp of the suborder Dendrobranchiata.

  • Prawn (noun)

    A large shrimp

  • Prawn (noun)

    A woman with a very toned body, but an unattractive face.

    “She’s a prawn!”

  • Prawn (noun)

    A fool, an idiot.

  • Prawn (verb)

    To fish for prawns.

  • Lobster (adjective)

    red-colored, especially from a sunburn.

  • Lobster (noun)

    A crustacean of the Nephropidae family, dark green or blue-black in colour turning bright red when cooked, with a hard shell and claws, which is used as a seafood.

  • Lobster (noun)

    A crustacean of the Palinuridae family, pinkish red in colour, with a hard, spiny shell but no claws, which is used as a seafood.

  • Lobster (noun)

    A soldier or officer of the imperial British Army (due to their red or scarlet uniform).

  • Lobster (noun)

    An Australian twenty dollar note, due to its reddish-orange colour.

  • Lobster (verb)

    To fish for lobsters.

Wiktionary

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