The present publication is intended to provide as complete an enumeration as possible of the species of Decapoda Natantia (shrimps and prawns) that are of interest to fisheries. It actually is the third edition of a list, the first draft of which was prepared by Mr. H. Rosa, Jr. and circulated in April 1964 as part of the paper "Note on the FAO Scientific Meeting on the Biology of Shrimps and Prawns with a preliminary List of their Species of Economic Value and Information on their Distribution" which formed FAO Fish.Circ., (14). The second draft was published in 1965 by L.B. Holthuis and H. Rosa, Jr. under the title "List of Species of Shrimps and Prawns of Economic Value" as FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (52). During the 1967 FAO World Scientific Conference on the Biology of Shrimps and Prawns held in Mexico City, the present author was charged with the revision and expansion of this list. The present publication is now presented in fulfillment of that request.

The actual catalogue in its present form was-completed by the author in 1978. The editorial work as well as the preparation of the additional section "List of Species by Major Marine Fishing Areas" and the indices of Latin and vernacular species names were carried out in the Fishery Resources and Environment Division of FAO, under the supervision of W. Fischer.