Volume : 5, Issue : 12, December - 2016

Parental care in freshwater crabs Maydelliathelphusa masoniana and Himalayapotamon emphysetum inhabiting streams of Jammu region, J&K, India.

Rakesh Kumar Gupta, Kuldeep K. Sharma, Seema Langer, Priya Manhas

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Parental care is a most important strategy in freshwater crabs so as to ensure the survival of the offspring. In the present studies parental care in the freshwater crabs </span><i style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Maydelliathelphusa masoniana</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> and </span><i style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Himalayapotamon emphysetum</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> has been recorded. Females of species </span><i style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">M. masoniana</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> were caught in the Gho-manhasan while </span><i style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">H. emphysetum</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> at Jajjar stream, having eggs underneath their abdomen. They were kept in the laboratory and hatching time of eggs recorded to be 36 and 44 days in </span><i style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">M. masoniana</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> and </span><i style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">H. emphysetum</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> respectively in the laboratory. The females of both the species retained the crablets underneath their abdomen for 12 days, after which crablets left the mother. In </span><i style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">M. masoniana</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">, the number of crablets recorded were 108 as compared to 88 in case of </span><i style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">H. emphysetum</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">. Mean size of crablets in both the cases was found to be 3.2 &plusmn; 0.10 mm.</span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">&nbsp; </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Parental care was observed to be confined to females only as males did not play any role for the protection of ood.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>