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Macrobrachium australiense

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Macrobrachium australiense
Macrobrachium australiense showing elongated chelae (front claws), Manning River, New South Wales, Australia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Caridea
Family: Palaemonidae
Genus: Macrobrachium
Species:
M. australiense
Binomial name
Macrobrachium australiense
Holthuis, 1950[1]

Macrobrachium australiense, also known as Eastern longarm shrimp, is a species of freshwater and estuarine prawn in the family Palaemonidae. It is native to eastern Australia, where it inhabits rivers, streams, and estuarine environments.[2][3]

Description

Live specimen of Macrobrachium australiense held in hand

Macrobrachium australiense is a small to medium-sized prawn. They have a translucent brownish-green shell and grows up to about 7 cms long. It is characterized by elongated second legs, which becomes particularly prominent in mature specimens and can exceed its body length. These long second legs have small claws at the end, which are used for grabbing and defending its territory. The species exhibit sexual dimorphism with the males typically developing larger second chelipeds than females.[3][1]

Distribution and habitat

Macrobrachium australiense is one of Australia's most widespread freshwater invertebrates and are found in most of eastern and inland Australia. It commonly occurs in freshwater catchments, as well as estuarine and mangrove-associated habitats along the eastern seaboard. In New South Wales, it has been recorded as an indicator species in estuarine systems including the Manning River, where it occurs in both natural mangrove forests and modified or hybrid shoreline environments.[4][5][6]

Taxonomy

Macrobrachium australiense belongs to the genus Macrobrachium. In 2004, a major taxonomic revision of Australian Macrobrachium recognised M. australiense as a valid species and synonymised several previously named forms under it.[1]

Molecular biology

Comparative transcriptomic studies found Macrobrachium australiense exhibited species-specific differences in gene expression when exposed to salinity, relative to related species.[7][8] Mitochondrial DNA analyses found large genetic divergence among populations of Macrobrachium australiense across Australian freshwater drainage basins, reflecting long-term isolation between inland and coastal regions.[7]

Ecology

Like other members of the genus Macrobrachium, M. australiense is an omnivorous prawn and as a consumer of organic material, it contributes to nutrient cycling in freshwater and estuarine ecosystems. It is also part of the diet of fish and other aquatic predators in Australian river systems.[3][5][9]

References

  1. Short, J. W. (2004-09-01). "A Revision of Australian River Prawns, Macrobrachium (Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae)". Hydrobiologia. 525 (1): 1–100. doi:10.1023/B:HYDR.0000038871.50730.95. ISSN 1573-5117.
  2. "Macrobrachium australiense (Eastern Longarm Shrimp) expert verified sightings and observations - NatureMapr Australia". naturemapr.org. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
  3. Herlihy, Damien (2025-06-02). "The Invisible Night Cleaners: Freshwater Prawns". The Gap Sustainability Initiative. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
  4. Shamsi, Shokoofeh; Sibraa, Lachlan; Zhu, Xiaocheng; Barton, Diane P. (2022-01-26). "Characterisation of Temnocephalidae flatworms in common Australian freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium australiense". Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 1396. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05123-z. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8792052.
  5. Chan, Sophie C. Y.; Hsiung, Amanda R.; Swearer, Stephen E.; Morris, Rebecca L. (2025-06-01). "Differential effects of mangrove cover and engineered structures on benthic macrofauna and nekton assemblages in hybrid living shorelines". Ecological Engineering. 216 107620. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107620. ISSN 0925-8574.
  6. "Prawn parade: Notes on Macrobrachium australiense Holthius, 1950 climbing vertical concrete overflow steps at Gold Creek Reservoir, Queensland | Request PDF". ResearchGate. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
  7. Murphy, Nicholas P.; Austin, Christopher M. (2004). "Phylogeography of the Widespread Australian Freshwater Prawn, Macrobrachium australiense (Decapoda, Palaemonidae)". Journal of Biogeography. 31 (7): 1065–1072. ISSN 0305-0270.
  8. Rahi, Md Lifat; Mather, Peter B.; Ezaz, Tariq; Hurwood, David A. (2019-04-01). "The Molecular Basis of Freshwater Adaptation in Prawns: Insights from Comparative Transcriptomics of Three Macrobrachium Species". Genome Biology and Evolution. 11 (4): 1002–1018. doi:10.1093/gbe/evz045. ISSN 1759-6653. PMC 6450038. PMID 30840062.
  9. Shamsi, Shokoofeh; Sibraa, Lachlan; Zhu, Xiaocheng; Barton, Diane P. (2022-01-26). "Characterisation of Temnocephalidae flatworms in common Australian freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium australiense". Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 1396. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05123-z. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8792052.