Freshwater Decapods of Andhra Pradesh: A Systematic Study

Decapoda is a crustacean order and mainly characterized by its five pairs of thoracic legs. Decapods are nested in the public consciousness for their great significance as a worldwide food source. Systematic studies on the decapods of Andhra Pradesh have been overlooked since the past studies mainly focused on some commercially important species from a few well-known lakes. In the present study, 655 decapod specimens have been collected between July 2018 to November 2019 from various freshwater bodies in Andhra Pradesh and have been assigned into sixteen species. In addition, three more species that appeared in the literature are considered. Therefore, Andhra Pradesh is so far known for nineteen species of freshwater decapods (eleven prawn species and eight crab species) in seven genera of three families. Among them, the family Atyidae is a new addition to the freshwater fauna of Andhra Pradesh, as well as genus Caridina and twelve species.