Penaeus vannamei (scientific name: Litopenaeus vannamei) is an animal of penaeid family and genus Litopenaeus. The adult body is up to 23 cm long, the shell is thin, the normal body color is cyan or light cyan gray, and the whole body is not striped. The feet are often chalk shaped, so it is called white legged shrimp. The length of the tip of the frontal horn of Penaeus vannamei does not exceed 2 segments of the first tentacle handle, and its tooth pattern is 5 ~ 9 / 2 ~ 4; The head breastplate is short, with a ratio of about 1:3 to the abdomen; The lateral sulcus of the frontal horn is short, and disappears under the upper gastric stab; The head breastplate has liver spines and gill horn spines; Obvious liver prickles; The first antenna has two whips, the inner whip is thinner than the outer whip, and the length is roughly the same, but they are all short (about 1/3 of the length of the first antenna handle); The upper limbs of the first to third pairs of feet are very developed, the fourth to fifth pairs of feet have no upper limbs, and the fifth pair of feet have embryonic outer limbs; The 4th to 6th segments of the abdomen have ridges; The caudal segment has a central sulcus, but does not have marginal spines.

The natural habitat of Penaeus vannamei is the muddy seabed, with a water depth of 0 ~ 72 meters. Adult shrimp mostly live in coastal waters near the coast, while young shrimp like to feed and grow in estuaries with abundant bait. Penaeus vannamei is an omnivorous species. In the case of artificial breeding, it can eat organic debris in the pond and has high requirements for the solidification rate of feed. Penaeus vannamei has no strict demand for animal food. As long as the ratio of protein in the food component accounts for more than 20%, it can grow normally. Originating from the waters along the Pacific coast of South America, it is mainly distributed in the tropical waters along the Pacific coast of the western United States, from the Gulf of Mexico to central Peru, especially in the waters near Ecuador.