First record of the genus Caprella and species Caprella danilevskii Czerniavski, 1868 (Amphipoda: Corophiida: Caprellidae) from Arabian Sea, North Indian Ocean

Abstract

The genus Caprella (Amphipoda: Caprellidae) has been recorded from all over the world oceans, whereas the species C. danilevskii Czerniavski, 1868 was only limited to southern parts of the Indian Ocean. Here, the occurrence of the genus Caprella and species C. danilevskii is described from the coastal waters of India for the first time, thus extending the distribution of this species to the northern Indian Ocean. The specimens of C. danilevskii were collected from macroalgae located at the rocky intertidal coast at Veraval, Gujarat, India. A detailed description of the specimen from the Indian region was provided, including explicit morphometric relations among the male and female sexes. Some abnormalities and special characters were observed in the population, which have not been discussed prior to this study. The species C. danilevskii could represent an introduction in the coastal waters of India; however it cannot be ignored that the species was present earlier or could have been overlooked.