Caridina Typus H. Milne Edwards 1837 from the Indian Mainland: a Report

6 Pages·1999·2.8 MB·

by  Delphin Ebenezer

CARIDINA TYPUSH. MILNE EDWARDS 1837 FROM
—
THE INDIAN MAINLAND A REPORT'
Delphjn Ebenezer- andJasmine Richard3
(Withfour text-figures)
Keywords: Caridinatypus, Crustacea,Atyidae,Appendixmasculina,Appendix interna
Freshwaterprawns ofthe family Atyidaeenjoywidedistribution in India. Nearlyacenturyago,
Henderson(1893)firstrecordedtheoccurrenceofanatyidprawnfromIndia,ofthegenusCaridina,
which he identified as C. wyckii (Hickson), from Chennai. In subsequent years, several
carcinologistscontributedtowardsthetaxonomyoftheAtyidaeofIndia. Yet, thetypespeciesof
the genus Caridina viz. Caridina typus. H. Milne Edwards 1837, though widely distributed in
the Indo-Pacific area, was recorded only from Andaman Islands (Tiwari & Pillai 1971) and not
fromthe Indian mainland. Thepresentnoterecordstheoccurrence ofC. typusfrom fourstreams
in the fringing localities of Kanyakumari district ofTamil Nadu and extends its distribution to
the Indian mainland.
Introduction antennularpeduncle; uppermarginentire; lower
margin interrupted with 1-3 teeth.
As part of a research project, the first 0
=
author surveyed the freshwater bodies of Rostral formula
1-3
Kanyakumaridist. forthepresenceoffreshwater
prawns. Numerous specimens ofseveralspecies Antennalspineisatthe lowerorbitalangle.
of the atyid genus Caridina were collected. Thepteiygostomianangleisrounded. Stylocerite
C. typus was collected for the first time from reaches 3/4th of the basal segment of the
the Indian mainland, from the streams in antennular peduncle.
Methukammal, Kunchacode, Manavalakurichi Carpus of the 1st pereiopod deeply
and Manakal Odai (Fig. 1). Samples of the excavated,equaltomerusandshorterthanchela,
collected specimens are deposited in 1.38 to 1.5 times as long as its breadth. Carpus
Rijksmuseum Van Natuurlijke Histone Leiden, ofthe 2ndpereiopodnotdeeplyexcavated, 4.06
The Netherlands - Reg No. Crust. D. 46659. to 5.10 times as long as its breadth and longer
than merus and chela. Finger longer than palm;
Caridina typus H. Milne Edwards 1837. propodusof3rdpereiopod 8.30to 10.30times as
(Figs. 2-4) longasitsbreadth, 3.98to4.0 timesthedactylus
and bears 5 to 7 spines. Propodus of the 5th
Description pereiopod 13.10 to 14.50 times as long as its
breadth,3.70to4.20timesthedactylus. Dactylus
Maximum length ofthe prawn is 39 mm. 4.03 to 4.50 times itsbreadth andbears 45 to 60
Males 14-24 mm; Females 32-39 mm. Rostrum minutespinulesarrangedinacomb-likefashion.
short, reaching the tip ofthe 2nd segmentofthe Pereiopods 1 to4bearepipodites.Thefirst
pleopods ofthe males bear a distinct appendix
‘AcceptedJuly,1997 interna ontheirendopod. The 2nd malepleopod
PresidencyCollege,
bears appendix masculina.
Chennai600004.
3BharathiWomen’sCollege, Telson bears 5 to 6 pairs ofdorsal spines.
Chennai600108. Its posterior margins bear a median spine and
JOURNAL BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY. 96(3). DEC. 1999 427
.
CARID1NATYPUSH.MILNEEDWARDS1837
vie'
Lateral
1837.
Edwards
Milne
H.
typus
Caridinci
1:
Fig.
428 JOURNAL BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(3) DEC. 1999
.
CARIDINATYPUSH.MILNEEDWARDS1837
a to f
mm
1
Fig. 2: Caridina typus H. Milne Edwards, 1837. a-c: Pereiopods J-II1; d. Pereiopod V; e. Pleopod I ofmale;
f. Pleopod II ofmale; g. Telson.
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(3), DEC. 1999 429
CARIDINATYPUSH. MILNEEDWARDS1837
vv
430 JOURNAL BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY. 96(3) DEC. 1999
CAR1DINATYPUSH.MILNEEDWARDS1837
Fig. 4: Map ofKanyakumari districtshowing locations ofoccurrence ofCaridina typus
6to 10longspines.Thelateralspinesareslightly Johnson (1960, 1963) dealt with C. typus and
shorter than the median ones which are almost emphasized the insular distribution of the
equal in length. species, being restricted to a few fringing
Uropod diaeresis spines are 16 to 21 localities never far from the sea and never in
(mostly 19). Eggs numerous; in one berried major river systems. Tiwari & Pillai (1971)
femaletherewere3708. Eacheggmeasures0.24 described C. typus from freshwater streams of
to 0.29 mm x 0.42 to 0.47 mm. Andaman Islands. So far, C. typus had notbeen
reported fromthe Indianmainland, eventhough
Discussion it was reported from neighbouring Sri Lanka
by De Silva (1982) and Benzie & De Silva
Caridina typus has a wide distribution in (1984).
the Indo-west Pacific area, ranging from East The present report of C. typus from the
Africa to Japan and Polynesia(Holthuis, 1965). freshwater streams of Kanyakumari dist.
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(3), DEC. 1999 431
CARIDINATYPUSH.MILNEEDWARDS1837
confirms the presence of the species on the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Indian mainland for the first time. The pattern We thank Prof. L.B. Holthuis for
of distribution along the shore conforms with
taxonomic consultation and for depositing the
the observation ofJohnson (1963). The present specimens in the Rijksmuseum Van Naturrlijke
recordofthisspeciesalongthefringinglocalities Historic, Leiden, Netherlands. We gratefully
ofKanyakumaridist. mayleadtofurtherreports remember late Dr. D.R. Jalihal for the constant
from the Indian subcontinent. support given by him.
Refer iNCES
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protein variation. JournalofCrustacean Biology 4: Zoogeography. Proc. Cont. Bicent. Congr. Biol.
632-644. Singapore: 170-181.
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432 JOURNAL. BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(3) DEC. 1999