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Freshwater Crabs

Article · February 2012

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Checklist of Indian fauna
FRESHWATER CRABS
S.K. Pati1, M.K. Dev Roy2 and R.M. Sharma3
1&3
Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Centre,
Vidya Nagar, Sector No. 29, P.C.N.T Post, Rawet Road, Akurdi, Pune- 411 044, India
e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
2
Crustacea Section, Zoological Survey of India, Fire Proof Spirit Building,
Indian Museum Complex, 27, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Kolkata – 700016, India
e-mail: [email protected]

Introduction
Freshwater crabs due to their role in nutrient cycle, water quality monitoring and
small-scale fisheries have been considered as ecologically as well as economically
important group. About 1280 species under 4 Superfamilies occur in the world, which
accounts to one fifth of known brachyuran diversity (Cumberlidge et al., 2009). A total
of 96 species under 41 genera in 6 families hitherto recorded from India is presented here
(Wood-Mason, 1871; Henderson, 1893; Alcock, 1910; Bott, 1970; Bahir and Yeo, 2005,
2007 and Ng et al., 2011).

There are five species belonging to three families viz. Sesarmidae, Varunidae and
Hymenosomatidae, the members of which are either marine or estuarine forms. However,
some of the members belonging to these families have adapted to live in and complete
their life cycle in freshwater habitats and need not have to return to the sea (Ng, 1988).
As such, these have been considered as freshwater species. All species belonging to the
genus Geosesarma (Sesarmidae) are fresh water. Two species of this genus occur in
India (Pretzmann, 1984). Another species Hymenicoides carteri (Family
Hymenosomatidae) has been recorded from freshwaters of West Bengal and Uttar
Pradesh (Ramakrishna, 1977). Pyxidognathus fluviatilis (Family Varunidae) occurs in
beels, rivers and canals in Bangladesh (Rahaman et al., 2008). It has been recorded from
freshwater habitat of Palta of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal (Ghosh, 1998). Varuna
litterata another member of the family Varunidae is also found in rivers, slow streams in
monsoon drains, ponds, and pools of water and even in paddy fields far away from the
sea. Recently, a new hymenosomatid species, Neorhynchoplax patnahi was described
from Patna, Bihar (Ng et al., 2011).

SYSTEMATIC LIST
Phylum ARTHROPODA Latreille, 1829
Subphylum CRUSTACEA Brünnich, 1772
Class MALACOSTRACA Latreille, 1802
Order DECAPODA Latreille, 1802
Suborder PLEOCYEMATA Burkenroad, 1963
Infraorder BRACHYURA Linnaeus, 1758
Superfamily GECARCINUCOIDEA Rathbun, 1904
Family GECARCINUCIDAE Rathbun, 1904
1. Baratha peena Bahir & Yeo, 2007
2. Baratha pushta Bahir & Yeo, 2007
3. Barytelphusa cunicularis (Westwood, 1836)
4. Barytelphusa guerini (H. Milne-Edwards, 1853)
5. Barytelphusa jacquemontii (Rathbun, 1905)
6. Barytelphusa pulvinata (Alcock, 1909)
7. Cylindrotelphusa steniops (Alcock, 1909)
8. Gecarcinucus edwardsi Alcock, 1909
9. Gecarcinucus jacquemontii H. Milne Edwards, 1844
10. Globitelphusa bakeri (Alcock, 1909)
11. Globitelphusa cylindra (Alcock, 1909)
12. Globitelphusa pistorica (Alcock, 1909)
13. Globitelphusa planifrons (Bürger, 1894)
14. Gubernatoriana gubernatoris (Alcock, 1909)
15. Gubernatoriana pilosipes (Alcock, 1909)
16. Inglethelphusa fronto (Alcock, 1909)
17. Lamella lamellifrons (Alcock, 1909)
18. Liotelphusa campestris (Alcock, 1909)
19. Liotelphusa gagei (Alcock, 1909)
20. Liotelphusa laevis (Wood-Mason, 1871)
21. Liotelphusa quadrata (Alcock, 1909)
22. Maydelliathelphusa edentula (Alcock, 1909)
23. Maydelliathelphusa falcidigitis (Alcock, 1910)
24. Maydelliathelphusa harpax (Alcock, 1909)
25. Maydelliathelphusa lugubris (Wood-Mason, 1871)
26. Maydelliathelphusa masoniana (Henderson, 1893)
27. Pilarta anuka Bahir & Yeo, 2007
28. Snaha aruna Bahir & Yeo, 2007
29. Snaha escheri (Roux, 1931)
30. Travancoriana charu Bahir & Yeo, 2007
31. Travancoriana convexa (Roux, 1931)
32. Travancoriana kuleera Bahir & Yeo, 2007
33. Travancoriana napaea (Alcock, 1909)
34. Travancoriana pollicaris (Alcock, 1909)
35. Travancoriana schirnerae Bott, 1969
36. Vanni ashini Bahir & Yeo, 2007
37. Vanni deepta Bahir & Yeo, 2007
38. Vanni giri Bahir & Yeo, 2007
39. Vanni malabarica (Henderson, 1912)
40. Vanni nilgiriensis (Roux, 1931)
41. Vanni pusilla (Roux, 1931)
42. Vanni travancorica (Henderson, 1913)
43. Vela carli (Roux, 1931)
44. Vela virupa Bahir & Yeo, 2007

Family PARATHELPHUSIDAE Alcock, 1910

45. Austrothelphusa transversa (von Martens, 1868)

46. Ceylonthelphusa austriana (Alcock, 1909)
47. Oziotelphusa aurantia (Herbst, 1799)
48. Oziotelphusa biloba Bahir & Yeo, 2005
49. Oziotelphusa bouvieri (Rathbun, 1904)
50. Oziotelphusa kerala Bahir & Yeo, 2005
51. Oziotelphusa senex (Fabricius, 1798)
52. Oziotelphusa wagrakarowensis (Rathbun, 1904)
53. Perbrinckia enodis (Kingsley, 1880)
54. Sartoriana spinigera (Wood-Mason, 1871)
55. Sartoriana trilobata (Alcock, 1909)
56. Somanniathelphusa sinensis (H. Milne Edwards, 1853)
57. Spiralothelphusa hydrodroma (Herbst, 1794)
58. Spiralothelphusa wüellerstorfi (Heller, 1862)

Superfamily POTAMOIDEA Ortmann, 1896

Family POTAMIDAE Ortmann, 1896
Subfamily POTAMINAE Ortmann, 1896
59. Acanthopotamon fungosum (Alcock, 1909)
60. Acanthopotamon martensi (Wood-Mason, 1875)
61. Acanthopotamon panningi (Bott, 1966)
62. Alcomon lophocarpus (Kemp, 1913)
63. Alcomon superciliosum (Kemp, 1913)
64. Himalayapotamon ambivium (Alcock, 1909)
65. Himalayapotamon atkinsonianum (Wood-Mason, 1871)
66. Himalayapotamon babaulti (Bouvier, 1918)
67. Himalayapotamon bifarium (Alcock, 1909)
68. Himalayapotamon emphyseteum (Alcock, 1909)
69. Himalayapotamon kausalis (Pretzmann, 1964)
70. Himalayapotamon koolooense (Rathbun, 1904)
 71. Himalayapotamon marinelli (Pretzmann, 1963)
72. Himalayapotamon monticola (Alcock, 1910)
73. Lobothelphusa woodmasoni (Rathbun, 1905)
74. Potamon fluviatile (Herbst, 1785)

Subfamily POTAMISCINAE Bott, 1970

75. Aspermon feae (de Man, 1898)
76. Eosamon tumidum (Wood-Mason, 1871)
77. Indochinamon asperatum (Alcock, 1909)
78. Indochinamon beieri (Pretzmann, 1966)
79. Indochinamon edwardsi (Wood-Mason, 1871)
80. Indochinamon manipurense (Alcock, 1909)
81. Larnaudia larnaudi (A. Milne Edwards, 1869)
82. Potamiscus annandali (Alcock, 1909)
83. Potamiscus decourcyi (Kemp, 1913)
84. Potamiscus pealianus (Wood-Mason, 1871)
85. Potamiscus rangoonensis (Rathbun, 1904)
86. Potamiscus tumidulus (Alcock, 1909)
87. Quadromon aborense (Kemp, 1913)
88. Teretamon adiatretum (Alcock, 1909)
89. Tiwaripotamon austenianum (Wood Mason 1871)
90. Trichopotamon sikkimense (Rathbun, 1905)

Superfamily MAJOIDEA Samouelle, 1819

Family HYMENOSOMATIDAE MacLeay, 1838

91. Hymenicoides carteri Kemp, 1917

92. Neorhynchoplax patnahi Ng, Nesemann & Sharma, 2011

Superfamily GRAPSOIDEA MacLeay, 1838

Family SESARMIDAE Dana, 1851

93. Geosesarma thelxinoë (De Man, 1908)

94. Geosesarma starmuhineri Pretzmann, 1984

Family VARUNIDAE H. Milne Edwards, 1853

95. Pyxidognathus fluviatilis Alcock, 1909

96. Varuna litterata (Fabricius, 1798)

References
Alcock, A. 1910. Brachyura I. Fasc. II. The Indian Freshwater Crabs – Potamonidae.
Catalogue of the Indian Decapod Crustacea in the collection of the Indian
Museum. Calcutta, pp. 1-135.
 Bahir, Mohomed M. and Yeo, Darren C.J. 2005. A revision of the genus Oziotelphusa
Müller, 1887 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Parathelphusidae), with descriptions of eight
new species. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement No. 12: 77-120.
Bahir, Mohomed M. and Yeo, Darren C.J. 2007. The gecarcinucid freshwater crabs of
southern India (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura). The Raffles Bulletin of
Zoology, Supplement No. 16: 309-354.
Bott, Richard. 1970. Die Süsswasserkrabben von Europa, Asien, Australien und ihre
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