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Macrobrachium platycheles Ou & Yeo, 1995
| Family Name: | Palaemonidae |
| Taxonomic Group: | Invertebrates (Crustacean, Crab and Prawn) |
| Common Name: | Torrent Prawn |
Name
Ecology, Habitat & Location
| Ecological Notes | Prefers fast flowing acid waters, usually in heavily vegetated areas. Requires intact forest cover and very clean, highly oxygenated water. The eggs are relatively large and there are no free-swimming larvae, the newly hatched young being very well developed. |
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| Habitats | Forest, Freshwater, Freshwater Swamp Forest |
| Distribution | In Singapore, it is known only from a small area in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, and from the Lorong Banir area further downstream. Also found in Peninsular Malaysia. |
| Nature Reserves | Central Catchment Nature Reserve |
Conservation
| Trends & Threats | Pollution and forest loss. |
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| Scientific Interest & Potential Value | Previously thought to be the same as Macrobrachium pilimanus, a widely distributed Southeast Asian species, this prawn was found to be distinct and described from Singapore only in 1995. Specimens (including ovigerous females) have been obtained mainly from a short stretch of a small fast flowing stream in Nee Soon Swamp Forest, which seems to be its last stronghold. This prawn has very fastidious habitat requirements, and its presence is an excellent indicator as to whether the water in a stream is pristine and not polluted as it is very sensitive to pollution and forest disturbance. |
| Conservation Notes | Unlike Caridina temasek, this species always occurs in small numbers but over a somewhat larger area. However, its strict swamp forest habitat requirements means that it is very sensitive to human activities and the loss of any significant part of the swamp will have dramatic effects. Therefore, continued conservation of the swamp forest and all its various small streams is extremely important. The species was first described from Singapore and the species has substantial heritage significance. |
Status
| Species Status | Native |
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| Singapore Red Data Book Status | Critically Endangered (CR) [2008] |
Photos
References
| References | Davison, G.W.H., Ng, P.K.L. & Ho, H.C (Eds.). 2008. The Singapore Red Data Book (2nd Edition). Singapore: Nature Society (Singapore). 285pp |
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