Abstract
Several shrimp species from the clade Penaeidae are farmed industrially for human consumption, and this farming has turned shrimp into the largest seafood commodity in the world. The species that are in demand for farming are an anomaly within their clade because they grow to much larger sizes than other members of Penaeidae. Here we trace the evolutionary history of the anomalous farmed shrimp using combined data phylogenetic analysis of living and fossil species. We show that exquisitely preserved fossils of †Antrimpos speciosus from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen limestone belong to the same clade as the species that dominate modern farming, dating the origin of this clade to at least 145 mya. This finding contradicts a much younger Late Cretaceous age (ca. 95 mya) previously estimated for this clade using molecular clocks. The species in the farmed shrimp clade defy a widespread tendency, by reaching relatively large body sizes despite their warm water lifestyles. Small body sizes have been shown to be physiologically favored in warm aquatic environments because satisfying oxygen demands is difficult for large organisms breathing in warm water. Our analysis shows that large-bodied, farmed shrimp have more gills than their smaller-bodied shallow-water relatives, suggesting that extra gills may have been key to the clade’s ability to meet oxygen demands at a large size. Our combined data phylogenetic tree also suggests that, during penaeid evolution, the adoption of mangrove forests as habitats for young shrimp occurred multiple times independently.
Highlights
Very few of the more than 3,000 known marine decapod shrimp species [1] have been the targets of industrial-scale aquaculture
How the large-bodied tropical shrimp used in farming evolved has remained unknown, because the phylogenetic history of penaeoidean shrimp has never been examined in the context of molecular, morphological and fossil evidence
To facilitate discussion of the evolutionary implications of our combined data tree (Fig 1), we provide new names for clades that have not been named in previous work
Summary
Very few of the more than 3,000 known marine decapod shrimp species [1] have been the targets of industrial-scale aquaculture. How the large-bodied tropical shrimp used in farming evolved has remained unknown, because the phylogenetic history of penaeoidean shrimp has never been examined in the context of molecular, morphological and fossil evidence. Human exploitation of large shrimp species through industrial aquaculture in tropical areas has expanded extremely rapidly in the last five decades, and has been heavily criticized for the destruction of vulnerable coastal habitats, mangrove forests [4,5]. These same mangrove forests are hypothesized to be key nursery environments for natural shrimp populations [6,7]. In light of ongoing environmental degradation and global warming, it is important to elucidate the ecological context in which valuable species such as these shrimp evolved
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
