Juvenile P. esculentus live in seagrass beds,[3] and reach sexual maturity at a carapace length of around 32 millimetres (1.3 in).

[4] Adults grow up to 155 millimetres (6.1 in) long,[5] and resemble Penaeus monodon, albeit smaller and browner.

[5] There is little population structure in the species, with only slight differentiation between regions east and west of the Pleistocene land bridge between Australia and New Guinea.

[11] It has the potential to be used in aquaculture (shrimp farming) since, although it grows less rapidly than P. monodon, it commands higher prices.

[12] William Aitcheson Haswell arrived in Australia in 1878, and began working in a marine zoology laboratory at Watsons Bay.