Carapace bulged and smooth; gastro-frontal sulcus and carina absent; orbito-antennal sulcus pronounced, sharp and relatively short; antennal carina very strong; cervical sulcus deeper at its lower half and extremely shallow above; both antennal and hepatic spines sharp. Rostrum slender and rostral teeth with formula 7-10/1-3 (mode 8/2); ventral teeth relatively far apart, the first being opposite anterior to last dorsal tooth; postrostral carina narrow and not so distinct; adrostral carina rounded, short and ends at level of epigastric tooth, being equal in length to adrostral shallow sulcus.
Distribution:
West Atlantic from the Caribbean Sea to southern Brazil, 10-35 m deep. Juveniles live in muddy bottom of estuarine water.
Remarks:
The northern white shrimp, P. setiferus (Linnaeus), is distinguished from this species mainly by having the different shape of petasma and thelycum.