Moulting is the primary process by which crustaceans grow. It involves a complex series of hormonally controlled metabolic and physiological changes that result in the construction of a new cuticular layer beneath the existing shell. This culminates in the removal of the old cuticle layer, a process called ecdysis, and an intake of water leading to expansion of the animal’s size before hardening and calcification of the new exoskeleton. The exoskeleton development is crucial for metamorphosis and growth throughout the life of shrimp with failure of moulting resulting in production losses from either mortality or stunted growth. The histological changes associated with the moult stage in prawns has been well described, particularly methods by which to visually assess moult stage in Penaeid prawns (Figure 1). Modern bulk transcriptomic and proteomic approaches have also discovered unique hormonal regulatory mechanisms. However, this has not yet been resolved at the cellular level, with the underlying cell types and molecular mechanisms driving these phenotypic changes poorly understood. In the present study, we used a single-cell nuclei RNA-seq (snRNAseq ) approach (Parse Biosciences) to identify the cell types and changes across key stages of the L. vannamei moult cycle. We identify the subcellular expression patterns unique to each epithelial cell type and how they change during moulting, expanding on and integrating bulk transcriptomic datasets to enhance our knowledge of exoskeleton development. This study defines the dynamic patterns of cell specific expression and cellular regeneration that occurs during this fundamental biological process. Implications for utilising this information to improve growth performance will be discussed.