Volume 27, Issue 80, July - December, 2026

Two New Species of Rice-field Crab of the Genus Oziotelphusa Muller, 1887 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae) from Eastern India

Santanu Mitra^1♦

¹Crustacea Division, Zoological Survey of India, Fire Proof Spirit Building, 27 J. L. Nehru Road, Kolkata 700016, West Bengal, India

^♦Corresponding Author
Santanu Mitra, Crustacea Division, Zoological Survey of India, Fire Proof Spirit Building, 27 J. L. Nehru Road, Kolkata 700016, West Bengal, India

ABSTRACT

Freshwater crabs of the genus Oziotelphusa Müller, 1887, commonly referred to as rice-field crabs, typically inhabit lowland agricultural ecosystems and are widely distributed across Sri Lanka and peninsular India. To date, nine valid species of Oziotelphusa are recorded from India. While the majority of Indian congeners were historically described from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, the freshwater decapod fauna of Eastern Indian states—specifically Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal—remains poorly documented. The present study describes two new species: Oziotelphusa venkataramani sp. nov. from Bihar and Oziotelphusa gurupadai sp. nov. from West Bengal. Both the species are distinguished from their congeners by a suite of distinct morphological characters, including the structure of the male carapace, the shape of the first male gonopod (G1), anterolateral margin, the structure of the epistomal median tooth, and the morphology of the female gonopore. The discovery of O. venkataramani sp. nov. and O. gurupadai sp. nov. emphasize the necessity for intensive faunistic surveys in these less explored regions. These crabs are heavily exploited for local consumption as well as they serve as bio-indicators in their ecosystem; an urgent conservation strategy must be taken to safeguard their populations.

Keywords: New species, Paddy field crab, Eastern India, Taxonomy, Oziotelphusa, Venkat’s Paddy field crab, Gurupada’s Paddy field crab

Species, 2026, 27(80), e23s3300

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Published: 03 September 2026