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Disclaimer note - WWF - Pakistan

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Detailed Ecological Assessment Report 2008 – Keenjhar Lake<br />

by the fishermen. It is a commercially important species of prawn in the<br />

Arabian Sea and it is found in estuarine areas and thus it seems to have<br />

developed some interesting environmental tolerance and physiological<br />

resistance to the estuarine conditions. Attempts have been e to rear this<br />

species in the laboratories in Karachi and successful rearing practices<br />

including the rearing of the eggs and larvae have also been executed<br />

recently near the sea shore of Karachi.<br />

• Scylla serrata<br />

Phylum: Arthropoda<br />

Subphylum: Crustacea<br />

Class: Malacostraca<br />

Order: Decapoda<br />

Infraorder: Brachyura<br />

Family: Portunidae<br />

Genus: Scylla<br />

Species: S. serrata<br />

Commonly called Mangrove crab or mud crab, this species is found in<br />

huge abundance in Keti Bunder area. It is locally named as ‘khakua’ by<br />

the fishermen community at Keti Bunder and surrounding areas. This mud<br />

crab inhabits muddy bottoms in brackish water along the shoreline,<br />

mangrove areas, and river mouths; hence it is given the name mud crab<br />

or mangrove crab.<br />

It has been reported that both, temperature and salinity can affect the<br />

nitrogen metabolism of mud crabs. At low salinity i.e. 10 ppt, there is<br />

catabolism of amino acid and formation of ammonia to reduce osmolarity.<br />

As regards the reproduction of this economically imperative crab, mating<br />

takes place as early as the first year of life after the female undergoes a<br />

pre-copulatory molt. As regards its feeding habits, 50% of the identifiable<br />

material in the foreguts is mollusks, 20-22% crustaceans, and the<br />

remaining 28-30% consisting of small amounts of plants and debris.<br />

• Partunus pelagicus<br />

Phylum: Arthropoda<br />

Class: Crustacea<br />

Series: Eumalacostraca<br />

Superorder: Eucarida<br />

Order : Decapoda<br />

Infraorder : Brachyura<br />

Family :Portunidae<br />

Genus : Portunus<br />

Sub Genus : Portunus<br />

Species : pelagicus<br />

Authority : Linnaeus<br />

Image 22 – Scylla serrata<br />

Image 23 – Partunus pelagicus<br />

<strong>WWF</strong> <strong>Pakistan</strong> – Indus for All Programme Page 106 of 188

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