Additional Locality Record of the Mangrove Crab Neosarmatium malabaricum (Henderson, 1893) (Decapoda: Brachyura: Sesarmidae) in the Kali Estuary, Karwar, Karnataka, India
Pradnya D. Bandekar *
Department of Studies in Marine Biology, Karnatak University, Post Graduate, Centre, Kodibag, Karwar, Karnataka-581303, India.
V.S. Kakati
Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Gopal D. Naik
Karnataka Forest Department, Office of the Range Forest Officer, Karwar Range, Karwar, Karnataka, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The sesarmid crab Neosarmatium malabaricum (Henderson, 1893), originally described from the Malabar coast of India, has been documented in several localities along the western Indian coastline. Six adult males attributed to this species were collected by hand in mangrove-associated habitats of the Kali Estuary, Karwar, Karnataka, during May–August 2026. Carapace length ranged from 18.0 to 22.0 mm (mean 20.5 mm), carapace width from 22.0 to 25.0 mm (mean 24.5 mm), and individual width-to-length ratios from 1.14 to 1.22 (mean approximately 1.20). Across the available right and left cheliped measurements, propodus length ranged from 15.0 to 23.0 mm, dactylus length from 9.5 to 15.0 mm, and palm height from 10.0 to 14.0 mm. The recorded carapace proportions are close to those described for N. malabaricum in published taxonomic treatments. The observations provide an additional locality-based record from coastal Karnataka and a small series of male morphometric measurements. Because specimen-specific site assignments and independently authenticated diagnostic images are unavailable, the material supports neither population-level inference nor an independent photographic confirmation of the collection locality.
Keywords: Sesarmidae, Neosarmatium malabaricum, mangrove-associated crab, Kali Estuary, Karwar, morphometry, locality record