Growth pattern of Palaemon adspersus (Rathke 1837) and Palaemon elegans (Rathke 1837) in Gorgan bay- southeast Caspian Sea

Variability in growth allometry of two prawn species Palaemon adspersus and Palaemon elegans was investigated in the Gorgan Bay, SE Caspian Sea, during a period between May 2019 and April 2020. Resalts showed that females grew to a larger size than males in both species. The weight growth of females was faster than length growth in P. adspersus (Log TW = -5.3975 + 3.2018Log TL), while in P. elegans the length growth of males was faster than weight growth (Log TW = -4.9019 + 2.8758Log TL). In P. adspersus TL – CL relationship was CL = 0.2162TL + 0.002 for females and CL = 0.2087TL + 0.0096 for males. In P. elegans TL – CL relationship was CL = 0.2451TL – 0.0908 for females and CL = 0.2043TL + 0.0372 for males. TL – CL relationships were nagative allometry in both sexes of two species. Mean condition factor (CF) of females was larger than that of males in both species, and it was observed significant difference in the mean condition factor between species and month.