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EXTINCTMacrobrachium rosenbergii

Giant River Prawn

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult male	89KB
Image:	Male showing rostrum	82KB
Image:	Male under UV light	108KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Giant River Prawn, Giant Prawn; French Bouqet Géant

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Pakistan - PNG and ne.Australia; n. to Philippines; EXOTIC EXOTIC widespread, incl. Cooks (extirpated) - Tahiti

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent (1992 from Tahiti), NOT naturalised; S.Group only (Rarotonga only, extirpated); Freshwater, ponds

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food

KEY FEATURES: A very large prawn, to ~30cmBL. COLOUR dark green to grey-blue, streaked darker and lighter; abdominal hinges often orange; pincer blue to dark blue. ROSTRUM above eyes and very long; 11-14 upper teeth, 8-14 lower teeth. ARMs (2nd leg) long, robust; in adult male movable finger laterally inflated.

Enlarged Image of 'Macrobrachium rosenbergii'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: X Makatea: -
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man, 1879)
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; CRUSTACEA; MALACOSTRACA; EUMALACOSTRACA; Eucarida; Decapoda; Natantia; Caridea; PALAEMONIDAE-Palaemoninae

More Information

IDENTIFICATION: A large prawn, to 25cmBL males, and 35cmBL females. ROSTRUM above eyes, very long (beyond antennal scale), with 11-14 upper teeth, and 8-14 lower teeth. ARMS (=2nd legs) long, robust, equal; adult male arms with small spines and tubercles, fingers with 1-2 large basal teeth, movable finger laterally inflated. COLOUR dark green to grey-blue, with irregular darker and paler streaks; abdominal hinges often orange; large pincer blue to dark blue.

GENERAL NOTE: The main freshwater prawn of aquaculture. Lives in estuarine areas and rivers, spawns in brackish water. Omnivorous.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: first harvest at Matavera Prawn Project ponds in May 1993, after introduction of 10,000 young prawns from Tahiti in Sept. 1992, CINews 26 May 1993.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM05a, zD04b

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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