Q 01/05

Shrimp usually swim forward by paddling their swimmerets, but how do they escape danger?

A) Flicking the tail to shoot backwards

B) Inflating and floating upward

C) Sprinting on their walking legs

D) Jetting water from the gills

Answer · why

A) Flicking the tail to shoot backwards

The 'caridoid escape reaction' is nicknamed lobstering. Some species dive straight into the sediment afterwards to hide.

Q 02/05

Shrimp are decapods. How many walking legs does that order's name promise?

A) Eight

B) Twelve

C) Six

D) Ten

Answer · why

D) Ten

In the common shrimp the first two pairs carry small claws for grabbing food, and the last four pairs are thin legs used mostly for perching. Crabs an...

Q 03/05

How long do shrimp usually live?

A) Twenty years or more

B) Ten to fifteen years

C) One to seven years

D) A few months

Answer · why

C) One to seven years

They are mostly solitary but can gather in huge schools to spawn. Everything from fish to whales eats them.

Q 04/05

Which of these is true of the words 'shrimp' and 'prawn'?

A) Prawn is the name for a female shrimp

B) They are common names with no fixed scientific meaning

C) Shrimp have claws and prawns do not

D) Prawns are freshwater and shrimp are marine

Answer · why

B) They are common names with no fixed scientific meaning

Usage flips between countries: big commercial species tend to be called shrimp in the US and prawns in the Commonwealth. Taxonomist Tin-Yam Chan says ...

Q 05/05

The word 'shrimp' comes from Middle English and Low German roots meaning what?

A) To swim in reverse

B) To contract or wrinkle

C) A small saltwater fish

D) A whiskered creature

Answer · why

B) To contract or wrinkle

Related Old Norse words meant 'to shrivel up' and 'a thin person'. That is why calling someone a shrimp is not a compliment.