The scavenger receptor, Croquemort is a member of the CD36 superfamily comprising transmembrane proteins involved in the recognition of polyanionic ligands. Various researchers have proved that members of the CD36 superfamily are involved in immunity and developmental processes. In the present study, we report a cDNA encoding the kuruma shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus Croquemort scavenger receptor (MjSCRBQ) obtained from a cDNA library of lymphoid organ by RACE amplification. The full-length cDNA of 2098 bp consists an open reading frame of 1596 nucleotides that translates into a 532-amino acid putative protein, with a 5' untranslated region of 323 bp and 3' UTR of 153 bp. The MjSCRBQ is constitutively expressed in gills, heart, hemolymph, hepatopancreas, intestine, lymphoid organ, muscle, nerve, and stomach and at high levels in the brain. Expression analysis in lymphoid organs of shrimp infected with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) revealed high levels of MjSCRBQ 72 and 120 h post-infection. The MjSCRBQ contains putative functional domains including transmembrane domains and a CD36 domain. Multiple alignments of MjSCRBQ amino acid sequences showed significant identity with Drosophila melanogaster SCRBQ (31%), Salmo salar SCRBQ (29%), Homo sapiens SCRBQ (28%) and Rattus norvegicus SCRBQ (30%). In a phylogenetic analysis, MjSCRBQ was identified in the invertebrate scavenger receptor cluster. This is the first report in crustaceans of the identification and characterization of a Croquemort scavenging receptor. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.