Abstract Freshwater crabs of the family Potamidae Ortmann, 1896, have so far not been recorded in the state of Odisha in India. We report for the first time a potamid crab, Acanthopotamon martensi (Wood-Mason, 1875), from Odisha. With this record, in addition to the ‘Ganges Delta and Plain’ and the ‘Lower and Middle Indus’ freshwater ecoregions, A. martensi is now known to occur also in the ‘Northern Deccan Plateau’ ecoregion. The present record of A. martensi from Odisha represents the southernmost record of the family Potamidae in the Indian subcontinent. In fact, A. martensi is one of two potamid species that is known from south of the Ganges. Five species of freshwater crabs, including A. martensi, are now known from Odisha.

Abstract A new species of the freshwater crab genus Ghatiana Pati and Sharma, 2014, is recognized herein from the Karnataka State, India. Ghatiana dvivarna sp. nov. usually inhabits holes in the laterite rocks on the elevated mountains of the Central Western Ghats (south of Goa-Nilgiris). The predominantly white color in life and the characteristic smaller eyes relative to the orbits of the new species easily distinguish it from congeners. Ghatiana dvivarna sp. nov. most resembles Ghatiana pulchra Pati and Thackeray, 2018, but can be differentiated mainly by its relatively more slender terminal segment of the male first gonopod. Ghatiana currently comprises 11 species, now including Ghatiana dvivarna sp. nov.

Abstract Two new species of freshwater crabs of the potamid genus Potamiscus Alcock, 1909 are described from Nagaland State of northeastern India. Potamiscus chizami sp. nov. and Potamiscus mima sp. nov. most resemble two Indian congeners [Potamiscus palelensis Mitra and Waikhom, 2019 and Potamiscus tumidulus (Alcock, 1909)] and a species from Myanmar (Potamiscus whitteni Ng, Hla Htoo and Win Mar, 2020) due to the similar terminal segment of the male first gonopod. Both new species can be distinguished from Po. palelensis by their stouter ambulatory legs, from Po. tumidulus by their more-slender male first gonopod, and from Po. whitteni by their strongly concave lateral margins of the male telson and the straight tip of the male first gonopod. Characters of the carapace, male pleon, male gonopods, and female vulvae are employed to differentiate Po. chizami sp. nov. from Po. mima sp. nov.

ABSTRACT The mangrove crab, Parasesarma bengalense (Davie, 2003), was previously reported in an ecological study from the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary of Andhra Pradesh on the east coast of India. No specimen, however, is readily available to confirm the identity of P. bengalense from the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary. The present study confirms the presence of P. bengalense in Indian waters for the first time based on the collections from Kerala and Maharashtra in the west coast of India (Arabian Sea). The distributional range of P. bengalense is now extended to the Arabian Sea because the species was previously known only from the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. India now has 918 species of marine brachyuran crabs and six species of Parasesarma De Man, 1895, including the present new record. The west coast of India is home to 465 brachyuran species whereas Kerala and Maharashtra coasts now contain 180 and 131 marine crab species, respectively. Parasesarma bengalense can be distinguished among the Indian species of Parasesarma except for P. bidens (De Haan, 1835) mainly by the presence of a prominent epibranchial tooth with a distinct notch. Parasesarma bengalense is distinct from P. bidens mainly by its male cheliped, which has a greater number of dactylar tubercles and a lesser number of teeth on the transverse crests of the palm.