An Annotated Checklist of Shrimp Diversity of Machilipatnam Coast, Andhra Pradesh, India

Machilipatnam, a coastal town in Andhra Pradesh, has a minor fishing harbour and serves as a significant hub for the fisheries sector in Andhra Pradesh. An intensive survey was conducted to assess the diversity and distribution of shrimp species along Machilipatnam coast. Three stations, namely, Gilakaladindi (Fishing Harbour), Manginapudi, and Tallapalem were selected along the stretch and samples were collected from September 2024 to August 2025. A total of 26 shrimp species including 21 penaeid species and 5 non-penaeid species were documented in the present study. Among the three selected stations, Gilakaladindi exhibited the highest species diversity with 26 species, followed by Manginapudi with 25 species and Tallapalem with 24 species. The taxonomically validated checklist of shrimp species distributed along the Machilipatnam coast serves as a baseline information for future biodiversity assessments, ecological research, and fisheries management.