Volume 24, Issue 74, July - December, 2023

First documentation of the Camptandriine crab Baruna socialis Stebbing, 1904 in the Arabian Sea from the mangroves of Kerala

Chemmencheri Ramakrishnan Sreeraj^1♦, Sreelakshmi S², Haripriya TD², Hussna Nazar², Limna Mol VP²

¹Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghat Regional Centre, Kozhikode, Kerala– 673006, India
²Department of Marine Biosciences, Faculty of Ocean Science & Technology, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Panangad, Kochi– 682506, India

^♦Corresponding author
Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghat Regional Centre, Kozhikode, Kerala– 673006, India

ABSTRACT

Crabs belonging to the Baruna genus, as classified by Stebbing in 1904 and part of the Camptandriidae family described by Stimpson in 1858, are commonly observed in various habitats within the Indo-West Pacific region. These habitats include mangroves, estuaries, mudflats, and open mudflats. Among the four known Baruna species found in the northern Indian Ocean, only one species, Baruna socialis Stebbing, 1904, has been documented in India, specifically in locations such as Chilka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. This report presents the initial confirmed sighting of Baruna socialis Stebbing, 1904, in the Arabian Sea, specifically within the mangroves of Northern Kerala - Payyannur and Kunhimangalam.

Keywords: Brachyura, Crab, Crustacean diversity, Mangrove, New record.

Species, 2023, 24(74), e80s1589

PDF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v24i74.e80s1589

Published: 12 October 2023