Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2026 | 18(3): 28590–28593

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10355.18.3.28590-28593

#10355 | Received 01 January 2026 | Final received 09 February 2026| Finally accepted 02 March 2026

 

 

New distribution records of five species of freshwater palaemonid prawns (Crustacea: Decapoda) in Nagaland, India

 

K. Valarmathi    

 

Crustacea Division, FPS Building, Zoological Survey of India, 27, JL Nehru Road, Kolkata, West Bengal 700016, India.

valarkamacro@gmail.com

 

 

 

Abstract: Freshwater palaemonid prawns of Nagaland is studied based on the collections made during different surveys from 1998 to 2022 by various survey teams of Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. Though 20 species of palaemonid prawns are reported from northeastern states of India, there are no previous reports from Nagaland. During the present study five species of palaemonid prawns—Macrobrachium cacharense (Tiwari, 1952), M. dayanum (Henderson, 1893), M. kempi (Tiwari, 1949), M. lamarrei lamarrei (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), and M. platyrostris (Tiwari, 1952)—are reported and forms first report from this underexplored state of India.

 

Keywords: Caridae, Crustacea, Macrobrachium, northeastern India, Palaemonidae.

 

 

Editor: V. Deepak Samuel, National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, India.        Date of publication: 26 March 2026 (online & print)

 

Citation: Valarmathi K. (2026). New distribution records of five species of freshwater palaemonid prawns (Crustacea: Decapoda) in Nagaland, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 18(3): 28590–28593. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10355.18.3.28590-28593

  

Copyright: © Valarmathi 2026. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: Zoological Survey of India.

 

Competing interests: The author declares no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The author thankfully acknowledges Dr. Dhriti Banerjee, director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, for her continuous support and research facilities. The author expresses her sincere thanks to the scientists and party members who have undertaken the surveys, collected and shared the freshwater prawns for this study.

 

 

Freshwater prawns are popular crustaceans belonging to the order Decapoda, family Palaemonidae. They play an important role in the ecosystem for nutrient recycling. Being a source of good protein for human consumption they have a great economic value. The family Palaemonidae is represented by 160 genera and the genus Macrobrachium with 291 species (DecaNet eds. 2025) with 58 species in India (Valarmathi 2025).

Nagaland is a mountainous state rich in biodiversity lying between the parallels 95–94º E and 25.2–27.0º N. Though in other northeastern states 20 species of palaemonid prawns have been reported (Valarmathi & Mitra 2021), Nagaland remains unexplored.

The present report is the outcome of the analysis of prawns collected during the surveys from 1998 to 2022 by various teams of Zoological Survey of India.

 

Material and Methods

Freshwater prawns were collected by using D-shaped scoop nets and local fishermen nets from hill streams, river banks, and small water drainages of Dimapur, Kiphire, Longleng and Peren districts of Nagaland. The collected prawns were anaesthetised by keeping them in an airtight container with a cotton ball immersed in clove oil, fixed in formaldehyde and preserved in 70% alcohol. Specimens were studied by using Leica, EZ4 microscope, Leica, Mc120D and Nikon DSLR camera were used for taking images. The species were identified using relevant literature (Jayachandran 2001; Henderson 1893; Tiwari 1949, 1952).  The identified specimens were deposited with registration number in the National Zoological Collection of Crustacea Division, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata.

 

Result

The present study reveals the occurrence of five species of Macrobrachium in Nagaland namely Macrobrachium cacharense (Tiwari, 1952), M. dayanum (Henderson, 1893), M. kempi  (Tiwari, 1949), M. lamarrei lamarrei (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), and M. platyrostris (Tiwari, 1952), previously not recorded from the state.

Systematics

Subphylum Crustacea Brünnich, 1772

Class Malacostraca Latreille, 1802

Subclass Eumalacostraca Grobben, 1892

Superorder Eucarida Calman, 1904

Order Decapoda Latreille, 1802

Suborder Pleocyemata Burkenroad, 1963

Infraorder Caridea Dana, 1852

Superfamily Palaemonoidea Rafinesque, 1815

Family Palaemonidae Rafinesque, 1815

Genus Macrobrachium Spence Bate, 1868

 

1. Macrobrachium cacharense (Tiwari, 1952)

(Image 1D)

1952. Palaemon hendersoni cacharensis Tiwari, Ann. Mag.Nat.Hist., V (ser.12): 32

2001. Macrobrachium hendersoni cacharensis Jayachandran, Prawns Biodiversity,        Taxonomy, Biology and Management. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.      Calcutta. 107.

Material examined:  C9795/2 -1 male, 2 females, 23.viii.2022, Stream near Longleng River, Nagaland,  coll. Thangavel Kubendran. 

Diagnosis: Rostrum short, convex reaching to the tip of the antennular peduncle; dorsal margin with 8–9 teeth of which 2–3 are on the carapace, ventral margin with 2–3  teeth. Second pereiopods larger, chela with characteristic grooves and pubescence restricted to 2/3rd of the proximal part of the fingers.

Distribution: India (Assam, Meghalaya, & Nagaland).

Remarks: This species was described as a sub species of M. hendersoni by Tiwari (1952) from Cachar District, Assam and it differs  from typical M. hendersoni by the nature of the rostrum as well as the by lack of flute and pubescence in the distal 1/3rd of the chela of the 2nd  pereiopod, M. cacharense is endemic to northeastern India.

 

2. Macrobrachium dayanum (Henderson, 1893)

(Image 1B)

1893. Palaemon dayanus Henderson, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 5(2): 443; Plate 40, figs 7-13.

1950. Macrobrachium dayanum Holthuis, Siboga Exped.Monogr., 39(9): 197.

Material examined: C7420/2 -1 male, 1 female, 26.iii.2017, Dhansiri River, Ntanki National Park, Peren, Nagaland, coll. Panakkool Thamban Aneesh; C8420/2, 1  male, 5.vi.1998 from Broader cam experimental fish farm, Dimapur, Nagaland, coll. Dr. A.K. Karmakar.

Diagnosis: Rostrum longer than antennular peduncle and reaching the end of the antennal scale or little beyond it; dorsal margin of the rostrum with 5–11 teeth of which 1–3 are behind the orbit. In mature adults second pereiopods are comparatively stronger, the grooves and pubescence are more prominent in the fingers of the chela whereas in sub adults it is feeble and the chela is distinctly longer than carpus.

Distribution: India (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, & West Bengal); Pakistan; Myanmar (Cai & Ng 2002); and Germany (Klotz et al. 2013).

Remarks: This species is widely distributed in central, northern and northeastern India.

 

3. Macrobrachium kempi  (Tiwari, 1949)

(Image 1C)

1949. Palaemon kempi Tiwari, Rec. Indian Mus., 45(for 1947): 330

2001. Macrobrachium kempi Jayachandran, Prawns Biodiversity, Taxonomy, Biology and Management. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.  Calcutta. 126.

Material examined: C7421/2,  7 males, 10 females, 26.iii.2017 from Dhansiri River, Ntanki National Park, Peren District, Nagaland, coll. Panakkool Thamban Aneesh.

Diagnosis: Rostrum short reaching up to the middle or end of the 3rd antennular peduncle; dorsal margin with eight teeth of which two are behind the orbit, ventral margin with 2–3 teeth. The second pereiopods are stronger, carpus is shorter than finger, palm and merus; fingers without grooves; inner palm with dense felt of hairs.

Distribution: India (Meghalaya); Bangladesh.

Remarks: This species was described by Tiwari (1949) based on the specimens collected from Chittagong, Bangladesh, and Ghosh et al. (1999) reported this species from Meghalaya, the species has been rarely reported.

 

4. Macrobrachium lamarrei lamarrei (H. Milne Edwards, 1837)

(Image 1E)

1837. Palaemon lamarrei H. Milne Edwards., Hist. nat. Crustaces, II: 397.

1950. Macrobrachium lamarrei: Holthuis, SibogaExped. Monogr., 39(9): 119.

2001. Macrobrachium lamarrei lamarrei: Jayachandran Palaemonid Prawns Biodiversity, Taxonomy, Biology and Management. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. Calcutta. 128.

Material examined: C9180/2, 2 males, 9 females, 18.ix.2021, Kiusam water channel near Bemi hills, Kiphire, Nagaland, coll. Santanu Mitra; C9181/2, 11 males, 13 females, Madziphima tributaries of Dhanusiri River, Dimapur, Nagaland, coll. Santanu Mitra.

Diagnosis: Rostrum extends to or longer than antennal scale. Rostral formula 4-7+1-2 / 4-9 (1-2). Upper margin of the rostrum with proximal group of 4–7 teeth, widely separated from the distal 0-2 sub-terminal tooth. The second pereiopods are simple and similar in both the sexes, finger is shorter than palm; chela nearly ½ of the carpus; merus longer than chela but shorter than carpus.

Distribution: India: This is a very common and widely distributed species in various states of the country (but this is the first report to Nagaland); Bangladesh; Myanmar; and Pakistan.

Remarks: This common species adapts to most of the aquatic habitats like freshwater, estuarine and even subterranean water (Holthuis 1950).

 

5. Macrobrachium platyrostris (Tiwari, 1952)

(Image 1A)

1952. Palaemon hendersoni platyrostris Tiwari, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., V (ser.12): 32     

2001. Macrobrachium hendersoni platyrostris Jayachandran Palaemonid Prawns Biodiversity, Taxonomy, Biology and Management. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. Calcutta. 108.

Material examined: C9794/2, 1 male, 4 females, 23.viii.2022, Dikhu River, Near Tamlu, Longleng District,   96.695˚N; 94.803 ˚E, coll. Thangavel Kubendran.

Diagnosis: Rotrum short reaches up to the end of antennular peduncle, the dorsal margin of the rostrum is with 7–10 teeth of which 2–3 behind the orbit. Second pereiopods larger, chela with characteristic grooves and pubescence in the entire fingers.

Distribution: India (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand,   Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttarakhand, & West Bengal); Myanmar (Cai & Ng 2002); China.

Remarks: This species was described as a subspecies of M. hendersoni by Tiwari (1952) from Assam and it differs from typical M. hendersoni by the length and depth of the rostrum and number of rostral teeth.

 

Discussion

The prawns collected from rivers and streams, especially during rainy seasons in large quantity were consumed by people in most of the north-eastern states. They are also smoke dried and stored for future use or sold (INR 1,000 per kg). Konyak et al. (2023) while studying the aquatic biodiversity in Dzuna River, Jotsoma, Nagaland has reported the availability of palamonid prawns in this river but they had mentioned it to be Palaemon sp. So all the five species of palaemonid prawns encountered during this study forms the first report to this poorly explored state. Among these five species of Macrobrachium, M. cacharense, and M. kempi are very rare species. The present work recommends for intensive studies for freshwater species from Nagaland.

 

Key useful for species of Macrobrachium of Nagaland

 

Rostrum longer than or equal to antennal scale ................................................................................................. 2

-      Rostrum always shorter than antennal scale ............................................................................................. 3

Second pereiopods slender and carpus is 1.5 to 2 times longer than chela, no pubescence and grooves in the fingers, ventral

            margin of the rostrum with 5–9 teeth ……......….....................................……………………………M. lamarrei lamarrei

-      Second pereiopods comparatively strong, carpus shorter than chela, fingers with pubescence and mild

       grooves, ventral margin of the rostrum with 4–7 teeth ……………………...…………………………………………….. M. dayanum

Fingers in the male second chela with grooves and without hairs on inner palm …………………….............………..…………. 4

-      Fingers in the male second chela without grooves and with hairs on inner palm ………………....…………………….. M. kempi

In adult male entire fingers of the second chela are with many grooves filled with hairs …..…….............…….. M. platyrostris

-      In adult male, the fingers of the second chela are with many grooves and only 2/3rd   filled with hairs .............. M. cacharense

 

 

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References

 

Cai, Y. & P.K.L. Ng (2002). The freshwater palaemonid prawns (Crustacea:Decapoda:Caridea) of Myanmar. Hydrobiologia 487: 59–83. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022991224381

DecaNet eds. (2025). DecaNet. Macrobrachium Spence Bate, 1868. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=156892 on 14.xii.2025

Ghosh, S.K., T. Roy & S. Bhadra (1999). Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae. In: State Fauna Series, Fauna of Meghalaya. Zoological Survey of India, 4(9): 557–567.

Henderson, J.R. (1893). A contribution to Indian Carcinology. Transaction of the Linnaean Society of London (Zoology) 5(2): 325–458.

Holthuis, L.B. (1950). Subfamily Palaemoninae. The Palaemonidae collected by the Siboga and Snellius Expeditions with Remarks on other species. I. The Decapoda of the Siboga Expedition. Part X. Siboga Expeditie Monographien. 39(9): 1–268.

Jayachandran, K.V. (2001). Palaemonid Prawns Biodiversity, Taxonomy, Biology and Management. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, Calcutta, 624 pp.

Klotz, W., F.W. Miesen, Hullen & F. Herder (2013). Two Asian freshwater shrimp species found in a thermally polluted system in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aquatic Invasions 8(3): 333–339. https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2013.8.3.09

Konyak, S.L., S.Y. Limatemjen & K. Peseyie (2023). Aquatic fauna biodiversity in Dzuna River, Jotsoma, Nagaland, India. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 11(3): 50–54. https://doi.org/10.22271/fish.2023.v11.i3a.2809

Milne Edwards, H. (1834–1840). Histoire Naturelle des Crustacés, Comprenantl´Anatomie, la Physiologie et la Classification de ces Animaux. EncyclopédiqueRoret, Paris. Vol. III, 638 pp., plates 1–42.

Tiwari, K.K. (1949). Preliminary descriptions of two new species of Palaemon from Bengal. Records of the Indian Museum 45 [for 1947]: 329–331. 

Tiwari, K.K. (1952). Diagnosis of new species and subspecies of the genus Palaemon Fabricius (Crustacea: Decapoda). The Annales and Magazine of Natural History 5(12): 27–32.

Valarmathi, K. & S. Mitra (2021). Crustacea, pp. 161–172. In: Faunal diversity of biogeographic zones of India: North-East. ZSI, Kolkata.

Valarmathi, K. (2025). Fauna of India Checklist: Arthropoda: Crustacea: Malacostraca: Decapoda (Shrimps, Prawns, Lobsters and Cray Fish) Version 2.0. Zoological Survey India. https://doi.org/10.26515/Fauna/2/2025/Arthropoda:Crustacea:Malacostraca:Decapoda