Palaemon adspersus is up to 70 millimetres (2.8 in) long, with a plain yellowish-grey body.

The rostrum bears distinctive spots of pigment on its lower half.

[2] Palaemon adspersus is uncommon over most of north-western Europe, but forms the basis of a significant fishery in the Danish straits.

Not all biologists followed the new nomenclature, and the confusion was eventually resolved by a ruling from the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), which stated that the type species of Palaemon would be Palaemon adspersus.

[5] Despite opposition from some carcinologists, including Robert Gurney, the ICZN concurred, leaving Palaemon adspersus Rathke, 1837 the oldest available name for the species.