In the US, the general term is "shrimp". However, in the UK, the term "prawn" is used more often.

A prawn is sometimes called a prawn and a shrimp is called a prawn and a shrimp. Confused? You should be.

The terms "prawn" and "shrimp" are used interchangeably and it does depend on where you live, as to which term will be used. The terms "prawns" and "shrimps" are used in cookbooks, restaurants and markets, but not necessarily correctly.

Some people say that the difference is just in the size. "Shrimps" are used to describe the smaller variety, whilst prawn is used to name the larger members of both species.

Believe it or not, there is actually a difference between prawns and shrimps. The difference lies in their gill structure. Prawns have a branching gill structure, whilst the gill structure of shrimps is lamellar.

There is also a difference in the way that the two brood their eggs. Prawns legs are longer than shrimps and the shrimp's front pair of pincers is larger, whilst the prawns second pair of pincers is bigger.

Prawns are similar to lobster, as they have two pairs of small pincers but due to the fact that they are similar in size to shrimps, they are sometimes confused with them.

Prawns and shrimps belong to the same family as crabs and lobsters and are similar in a number of ways. They are decapod crustaceans, which means that they have 10 legs and a hard shell covering their body, although the shell that covers prawns and shrimps is much thinner and not as hard as the shell of most other crustaceans.

As with crabs and lobsters, shrimps and prawns must shed their shells in order to grow bigger.

One of the main differences between prawns and shrimps and their relatives, the crabs and lobsters, is that prawns and shrimps primarily swim about, as opposed to crabs and lobsters that crawl.

Prawns and shrimps also start their 4 year existence as males and then change into females for their final year of life.

There's another kind of prawn only used in a very popular Malaysian forum, it's the sexy kind called the pron