First record of Prawn Leptocarpus potamiscus (Kemp, 1917) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae) from Karnataka, West Coast of India

The study reveals the first record of prawn species Laptocarpus potamiscus (Kemp, 1917) from Karnataka coast, West Coast of India. The genus Laptocarpus mainly described by their prominent key characters viz., presence of antennal spines, a prominent branchiostegal grooves and the absence of branchiostegal spines on the carapace. Globally, the genus Leptocarpus represents only three species with its Asian distribution, hitherto recorded from different localities across the Indian subcontinent. Specimen collected from Kali River estuary, Karwar being the first record from the Karnataka state. The morphological characters examined were similar to the description revealed for L. potamiscus by Kemp and Jayachandran. Hence, the study updates geographical distribution of L. potamiscucs from the Karnataka coast.