Morphometric relationships of the monkey river prawn Macrobrachium lar (Fabricius, 1798) (Decapoda, Palaemonidae) from the Andaman islands

Abstract

The morphometric relationships of endemic species of the palaemonid prawn Macrobrachium lar collected from the rivers of Andaman Islands, India, were studied. A total of 57 specimens (27 and 30 males and females) were examined using 8 morphometric measurements. Significant difference in the pattern of growth was observed in males and females with regards to most of the characters. Coefficient of variation values estimated revealed a low intra-group variation (CV < 25%)for all characters. Mean size of all the parameters show higher values in males compared to females. The morphometric traits of female individuals showed more positive and significant correlations compared to their male counterparts. In general, few parameters showed similar patterns of relative growth in both sexes. The total length was significantly related with telson length, carapace width and body weight while telson length was positively correlated with carapace width and body weight. The species clearly exhibits sexual dimorphism.