Presence of tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon Fabricius, 1798 (Penaeidae) in the Egyptian commercial shrimp catch, Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract Two incidences of the appearance of the giant tiger shrimp in the Egyptian commercial catch were recorded from Abou Qir Bay, on the East of Alexandria City, Egypt. The first was during September and October 2016 and was represented by 4 alive specimens. The second was during December 2018 and was represented by 15 alive specimens. Morphological characters are given with distribution and coloration for the present species. The results showed that the total length (TL) ranged from 176.8 to 180.2 mm, the carapace length (CL) of adult females ranged in size from 68.4 to 71.5 mm, and body weight (BW) ranged from 107 to 187 g. While, the adult males had TL ranging from 163.4 to 177.2 mm, CL ranged between 51.4 and 63.6 mm, and body BW ranged from 59 to 119 g. The collected female specimens were all with maturing ovaries. The low number of specimens collected of the tiger shrimp and the fact that there is no record of juvenile specimens may suggest that the invasion is still in its early stages. This is the first record for this exotic species Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea off Alexandria City, Egypt.