The Australian freshwater prawns of the family Atyidae

Abstract

Very little is known of the Australian freshwater Atyidae. These small prawns are widespread in all the permanent waters, occurring in small waterholes as well as in larger lakes and streams. They generally prefer areas where there is an abundant growth of aquatic plants but are also found in quite open water. Some of the species are found only just above the tidal zone and others where the water is slightly brackish. There are only two major papers on the Australian representatives of this group and these were both published in 1926. Most surprisingly the close appearance of the two has not resulted in any synonymy. Calman (1926) erected a new genus Caridinides for a north Queensland species and representatives of three well known genera Atya, Paratya and Caridina also occur.