Shrimp

Scientific name: Decapod crustaceans in the infraorder Caridea

Living in schools close to the sea bottom, shrimp are an important food source for larger animals such as fish and whales. Shrimp are widely caught for human consumption. While most shrimp breed in a marine habitat, there are a small number of freshwater species. The word shrimp comes from the Middle English shrimpe, similar to the Middle Low German schrempen, meaning “to wrinkle” or “to contract,” and the Old Norse skorpna, meaning “to shrivel up.”