80% of penaeid shrimps are found in depth of less than 100 meters in offshore shelves throughout the tropical and subtropical regions, whereas members of the genus Parapenaeus (commonly known as rose shrimp) are found in deeper waters (usually more than 100 meters deep) with economic importance. Parapenaeus contains 15 species, three subspecies and two forms in the Indo-West Pacific and the Atlantic. Although Parapenaeus species are common in worldwide tropical deep waters and some of them are fished commercially, there are very limited molecular studies on them.

SHA Zhongli’s research group from IOCAS and CHAN Tin-Yam’s research group from National Taiwan Ocean Universitycooperate to study molecular phylogeny of genus Parapenaeus. DNA taxonomy was employed to clarify species compositions of genus Parapenaeus and to evaluate the taxonomic status of three subspecies and two forms. Novel nucleotide sequence data from five different genes (COI, 16S, 12S, NaK and PEPCK) were collected to estimate phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of this genus. The results suggest that Parapenaeus originated in the shallow waters of Western Pacific with subsequent migration to the deep sea and the Atlantic. Moreover, an evolutionary direction from simple to complex genital organs is indicated.