Langostino

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Langosta is a Spanish word with different meanings in different areas, most commonly applied to various types of crustacean. In the United States, it is commonly used in the restaurant trade to refer to the meat of the squat lobster, which is neither a true lobster nor a prawn. Squat lobsters are more closely related to porcelain and hermit crabs. Crustaceans labeled as langostino are no more than 8 cm (3 in) long, and weigh no more than 200 g (7 oz).^[1] Langostinos are not langoustes (spiny lobsters) despite a similar name (in Spanish, lobster is called langosta). Also, langostinos are sometimes confused with langoustines (Norway lobster).^[2]

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration allows "langostino" to be used as a market name for three species of squat lobster in the family Galatheidae: Cervimunida johni, Munida gregaria, and Pleuroncodes monodon.^[3]

In Spain and Venezuela, it means some species of prawns.^[4] In Cuba and other Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands, the name langostino is also used to refer to crawfish. In Argentina the name is used to refer to Pleoticus muelleri, a kind of shrimp, while in Chile and Peru it refers to Pleuroncodes monodon.

“Langostino” is the Spanish diminutive of spiny lobster (langosta), which comes from the Latin for locust.^[5]