''Macrobrachium nobilii'' is a species of freshwater
shrimp
Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
, first described by Henderson and Matthai, 1910. It belongs to the order
Decapoda
The Decapoda or decapods (literally "ten-footed") are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp and prawns. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is esti ...
and family
Palaemonidae.
Distribution
The
caridean
The Caridea, commonly known as caridean shrimp or true shrimp, are an infraorder of shrimp within the order Decapoda. This infraorder contains all species of true shrimp. They are found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Many ...
prawn is distributed South East
India,
New Caledonia
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, Gavataks and
Tuamotu Island. In India, it is reported from
freshwater lakes of
Chengalpattu District of
Tamil Nadu. ''M. nobilii'' also has been reported from the river
Cauvery
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri (hill), Karnataka, Brahmagiri range in th ...
in between
Mettur Dam and
Poomphuhar Estuary.
Key characters
This freshwater prawn is known as stone prawn locally since its affinity is with the substrates such as stones/pebbles found in the bottom of its habitat. ''M. nobilii'' is characterized by its prominent or elongated second pair of chelate appendage in which the carpus is distinctly large than the merus. The large chela have teeth in the proximal part of the cutting edges. In the rostrum the first four or five teeth are situated behind the posterior orbital margin.
Biology
''Macrobrachium nobilii'' is a diecdysic, moulting and breeding once in 18–22 days. Males are larger than females. Male ''M. nobilii'' had a body weight of 12676 mg and the body weight of female is reported as 7178 mg.
An average female incubates about 2200 eggs/clutch for a period of 14 days. On completion of development eggs are hatched out in irregular batches within 6 days. On hatching, the larvae passively drift to the estuary where they complete their development. On completion of the larval development the juveniles actively migrate to the freshwater grounds.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4474691
Palaemonidae
Freshwater crustaceans of Asia
Crustaceans described in 1910
Decapods