Disclaimer note - WWF - Pakistan

Detailed Ecological Assessment Report 2008 – Keenjhar Lake
Penaeus indicus is another important species found in the Keti Bunder
area and is found and caught in reasonable abundance though like most
of the other commercially important species of the area its frequency in
the catch has also reduced than the normal over the last decades.
• Penaeus meruginus De Man, 1882
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca’
Order: Decapoda
Suborder:
Dendrobranchiata
Superfamily:
Penaeoidea
Family: Penaeidae
Genus: Penaeus
Image 20 – Penaeus meruginus
This species is commonly called ‘Jaira’ or ‘Jiaro’ by the locals in Sindh. It
is abundant in Keti Bunder area and many local fishermen depend solely
on this species for their livelihood. This species is commercially important
in the Persian Gulf and Pakistan. In India this species has often been
confused with Penaeus indicus so that its present economic status is not
accurately known but it certainly contributes to the commercial fishery in
Sindh.
This widely distributed and important Indo-West Pacific species lives in
shallow water between 10 and 45 meters on muddy bottoms. Juveniles
are estuarine, while adults mostly marine. This species ranges from the
Persian Gulf and Pakistan through the Malay Archipelago and South
China Sea to Australia, where it is found from Western Australia all the
way around the north coast to northern New South Wales.
• Parapenaeopsis stylifera
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Crustacea
Series: Eumalacostraca
Superorder: Eucarida
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Natantia
Infraorder : Penaeidea
Superfamily : Penaeoidea
Family: Penaeidae
Genus: Parapenaeopsis
Species: stylifera
Image 21 – Parapenaeopsis stylifera
Parapenaeopsis stylifera is another important crustacean found in the
Gharo area and is caught in sufficient abundance. It is locally called ‘Kiddi’
WWF Pakistan – Indus for All Programme Page 105 of 188