First record of a potamid crab (Decapoda: Brachyura) from Odisha State, India

Abstract

Freshwater crabs of the family Potamidae Ortmann, 1896, have so far not been recorded in the state of Odisha in India. We report for the first time a potamid crab, Acanthopotamon martensi (Wood-Mason, 1875), from Odisha. With this record, in addition to the ‘Ganges Delta and Plain’ and the ‘Lower and Middle Indus’ freshwater ecoregions, A. martensi is now known to occur also in the ‘Northern Deccan Plateau’ ecoregion. The present record of A. martensi from Odisha represents the southernmost record of the family Potamidae in the Indian subcontinent. In fact, A. martensi is one of two potamid species that is known from south of the Ganges. Five species of freshwater crabs, including A. martensi, are now known from Odisha.