Macrobrachium is a genus of freshwater prawns or shrimps characterised by the extreme enlargement of the second pair of pereiopods, at least in the male. The genus is cosmopolitan, found throughout the tropical, freshwater and estuarine ecosystems of both the Old and New Worlds.Bowles D, Aziz K, Knight C (2000) Macrobrachium (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae) in the contiguous United States: A review of the species and an assessment of threats to their survival. Journal of Crustacean Biology 20(1): 158–171. DOI link
The genus has a difficult taxonomic history due to morphological conservation between its species (plesiomorphy), and conversely, variations within a single species (polymorphism), leading to the discovery of cryptic species which were only revealed through genetic analysis and morphometry. This polymorphism may be especially apparent among males, where it is termed heterogeneous individual growth (HIG); in males, this determines the size and morphology that they may grow into, as well as their physiology and behavior.
Many species of Macrobrachium are of high commercial value, especially the larger species such as those from the M. rosenbergii species group; these are both shrimped and cultivated throughout the world. Escapees of aquaculture operations have been found to have established breeding populations, though their ecological impact is little studied.
In addition to their commercial value, these crustaceans are thought to provide various ecosystem services to humans: a study in the Senegal River basin found that large dams have been implicated in the spread of schistosomiasis, a disease caused by Schistosoma flatworms carried by snails. In general, dams inhibit the reproduction and migration of various riverine species, including Macrobrachium spp.; as these prawns are "voracious" predators of snails in all life stages, damming has been linked to marked increases in human schistosomiasis around dammed areas. It is estimated that restoration of Macrobrachium populations could benefit around 300 million people, one third to one half of the at-risk population.
Species The family Palaemonidae has been revised extensively in the 21st century, including the genus Macrobrachium. Using molecular phylogenetics, some genera of palaemonid shrimp were found to be both polyphyletic and within the clade of Macrobrachium.
The following cladogram is based on a 2021 phylogenetic analysis using partial DNA fragments of palaemonid shrimp:
Usually, the oldest name still in use is prioritized (Principle of Priority), which would make Macrobrachium 1868 the junior synonym of Cryphiops 1852. Out of the interest of nomenclatural stability and to prevent taxonomic confusion, it was proposed to conserve the more speciose genus Macrobrachium, invoking ICZN Article 23.9.3.
The following cladogram is based on a 2025 phylogenetic study using sequenced genes of palaemonid shrimp:
As of 2025, the genus contains these species:
Macrobrachium acanthurus (Wiegmann, 1836) Macrobrachium acherontium Holthuis, 1977 Macrobrachium aemulum (Nobili, 1906) Macrobrachium agwi Klotz, 2008 Macrobrachium ahkowi Chong & Khoo, 1987 Macrobrachium alevillalobosi Mantelatto, Pileggi, Pantaleão, Magalhães, Villalobos & Álvarez, 2021 Macrobrachium altifrons (Henderson, 1893) Macrobrachium amazonensis (Ramos-Porto, 1979) Macrobrachium amazonicum (Heller, 1862) Macrobrachium americanum Spence Bate, 1868 Macrobrachium amplimanus Cai & Dai, 1999 Macrobrachium andamanicum (Tiwari, 1952) Macrobrachium aracamuni Rodríguez, 1982 Macrobrachium asperulum (von Martens, 1868) Macrobrachium assamense (Tiwari, 1955) Macrobrachium atabapense Pereira S., 1986 Macrobrachium auratum Short, 2004 Macrobrachium australe (Guérin-Méneville, 1838) Macrobrachium australiense Holthuis, 1950 Macrobrachium ayeyarwadiense Myo, Jayachandran & Khin, 2021 Macrobrachium banjarae (Tiwari, 1958) Macrobrachium bariense (De Man, 1892) Macrobrachium bilineare Chen, Chen, Hu, Ma & Guo, 2021 Macrobrachium birmanicum (Schenkel, 1902) Macrobrachium bombayense Almelkar & Sankolli, 2006 Macrobrachium borellii (Nobili, 1896) Macrobrachium bouvieri (Sollaud, 1911) Macrobrachium brasiliense (Heller, 1862) Macrobrachium brevicarpum Tan & Dong, 1996 Macrobrachium bullatum Fincham, 1987 Macrobrachium cacharense (Tiwari, 1952) Macrobrachium caementarius (Molina, 1782) Macrobrachium caledonicum (Roux, 1926) Macrobrachium callirrhoe (De Man, 1898) Macrobrachium canarae (Tiwari, 1958) Macrobrachium candango Mantelatto, Pileggi, Pantaleão, Magalhães, Villalobos & Álvarez, 2021 Macrobrachium carcinus (Linnaeus, 1758) Macrobrachium catonium Hobbs & Hobbs, 1995 Macrobrachium cavernicola (Kemp, 1924) Macrobrachium cemai Tejeda-Mazariegos & Meijia-Ortiz, 2015 Macrobrachium chainatense Saengphan, Panijpan, Senapin, Laosinchai, Ruenwongsa, Suksomnit & Phiwsaiya, 2019 Macrobrachium chevalieri (J. Roux, 1935) Macrobrachium chilinense Đăng, 2012 Macrobrachium chryseus (Kensley & Walker, 1982) Macrobrachium clymene (De Man, 1902) Macrobrachium cocoense Abele & Kim, 1984 Macrobrachium cortezi Rodríguez, 1982 Macrobrachium cosolapaense Mejía-Ortíz & López-Mejía, 2011 Macrobrachium cowlesi Holthuis, 1950 Macrobrachium crebrum Abele & Kim, 1989 Macrobrachium crenulatum Holthuis, 1950 Macrobrachium dalatense Nguyên, 2003 Macrobrachium dayanum (Henderson, 1893) Macrobrachium debaratae Siriwut in Siriwut, Chaowvieng, Jeratthitikul, Chanabun, Panha & Sutcharit, 2025 Macrobrachium denticulatum Ostrovski, da Fonseca & da Silva-Ferreira, 1996 Macrobrachium depressimanum Pereira S., 1993 Macrobrachium dienbienphuense Đăng & Nguyên, 1972 Macrobrachium dierythrum Pereira S., 1986 Macrobrachium digitus Abele & Kim, 1989 Macrobrachium digueti (Bouvier, 1895) Macrobrachium dolatum Cai, Naiyanetr & Ng, 2004 Macrobrachium dolichodactylus (Hilgendorf, 1879) Macrobrachium dongaoensis Chen, Chen & Guo, 2018 Macrobrachium duanensis Lan, Wu & Li, 2017 Macrobrachium duri Wowor & Ng, 2010 Macrobrachium dux (Lenz, 1910) Macrobrachium edentatum Liang & Yan, 1986 Macrobrachium elatum Jayachandran, 1987 Macrobrachium elegantum Pan, Hou & Li, 2010 Macrobrachium empulipke Wowor, 2010 Macrobrachium equidens (Dana, 1852) Macrobrachium esculentum (Thallwitz, 1891) Macrobrachium faustinum (de Saussure, 1857) Macrobrachium felicinum Holthuis, 1949 Macrobrachium ferreirai Kensley & Walker, 1982 Macrobrachium feunteuni Keith & Vigneux, 2002 Macrobrachium foai (Coutière, 1902) Macrobrachium forcipatum Ng, 1995 Macrobrachium formosense Spence Bate, 1868 Macrobrachium fukienense Liang & Yan, 1980 Macrobrachium funchiae (García-Dávila & Magalhães, 2004) Macrobrachium gallus Holthuis, 1952 Macrobrachium gangeticum Spence Bate, 1868 Macrobrachium glabrum Holthuis, 1995 Macrobrachium gouldingi (Kensley & Walker, 1982) Macrobrachium gracilirostre (Miers, 1875) Macrobrachium grandimanus (Randall, 1840) Macrobrachium gua Chong, 1989 Macrobrachium guangxiense Liang & Yan, 1981 Macrobrachium guizhouense Jiang & Chen in Jiang, Zhou, Ma, Wang, Xie & Chen, 2025 Macrobrachium gurudeve Jayachandran & Raji, 2005 Macrobrachium hainanense (Parisi, 1919) Macrobrachium hancocki Holthuis, 1950 Macrobrachium handschini (Roux, 1933) Macrobrachium hendersodayanum (Tiwari, 1952) Macrobrachium hendersoni (De Man, 1906) Macrobrachium heterochirus (Wiegmann, 1836) Macrobrachium heterorhynchos Guo & He, 2008 Macrobrachium hildebrandti (Hilgendorf, 1893) Macrobrachium hirsutimanus (Tiwari, 1952) Macrobrachium hirtimanus (Olivier, 1811) Macrobrachium hobbsi Nates & Villalobos in Villalobos Hiriart & Nates Rodriguez, 1990 Macrobrachium horstii (De Man, 1892) Macrobrachium hungi Nguyên, 2012 Macrobrachium idae (Heller, 1862) Macrobrachium idella (Hilgendorf, 1898) Macrobrachium iheringi (Ortmann, 1897) Macrobrachium inca Holthuis, 1950 Macrobrachium indianum Pillai, Unnikrishnan & Prasannan, 2015 Macrobrachium indicum Jayachandran & Joseph, 1986 Macrobrachium inflatum Liang & Yan, 1985 Macrobrachium inpa Kensley & Walker, 1982 Macrobrachium insulare (Parisi, 1919) Macrobrachium iquitoensis (García-Dávila & Magalhães, 2004) Macrobrachium irwini Kunjulakshmi, Santos & Prakash, 2022 Macrobrachium jacatepecense Mejía-Ortíz & López-Mejía, 2011 Macrobrachium jacobsoni Holthuis, 1950 Macrobrachium japonicum (De Haan, 1849) Macrobrachium jaroense (Cowles, 1914) Macrobrachium jayasreei Jayachandran & Raji, 2005 Macrobrachium jelskii (Miers, 1878) Macrobrachium jiangxiense Liang & Yan, 1985 Macrobrachium johnsoni Ravindranath, 1979 Macrobrachium joppae Holthuis, 1950 Macrobrachium kelianense Wowor & Short, 2007 Macrobrachium kempi (Tiwari, 1949) Macrobrachium kistnense (Tiwari, 1952) Macrobrachium koombooloomba Short, 2004 Macrobrachium koreana Kwon & Han, 1984 Macrobrachium kulkarnii Almelkar & Sankolli, 2006 Macrobrachium kunjuramani Jayachandran & Raji, 2005 Macrobrachium laevis Zheng, Chen & Guo, 2019 Macrobrachium lamarrei (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) Macrobrachium lanatum Cai & Ng, 2002 Macrobrachium lanceifrons (Dana, 1852) Macrobrachium lanchesteri (De Man, 1911) Macrobrachium lantau Chow, Chan & Tsang, 2022 Macrobrachium lar (Fabricius, 1798) Macrobrachium latidactylus (Thallwitz, 1891) Macrobrachium latimanus (von Martens, 1868) Macrobrachium lehiai Kazmi & Kazmi, 2010 Macrobrachium lepidactyloides (De Man, 1892) Macrobrachium lepidactylus (Hilgendorf, 1879) Macrobrachium leptodactylus (De Man, 1892) Macrobrachium leucodactylus Wowor & Choy, 2001 Macrobrachium lingyunense (Li & Luo, 2001) Macrobrachium lopopodus Wowor & Choy, 2001 Macrobrachium lorentzi (Roux, 1921) Macrobrachium lucifugum Holthuis, 1974 Macrobrachium lujae (De Man, 1912) Macrobrachium luscus (Holthuis, 1973) Macrobrachium macrobrachion (Herklots, 1851) Macrobrachium maculatum Liang & Yan, 1980 Macrobrachium madhusoodani Unnikrishnan, Pillai & Jayachandran, 2011 Macrobrachium magalhaesi Carvalho, Silva, Mota & De Grave, 2025 Macrobrachium malayanum (Roux, 1935) Macrobrachium malcolmsonii (H. Milne Edwards, 1844) Macrobrachium mammillodactylus (Thallwitz, 1891) Macrobrachium manipurense (Tiwari, 1952) Macrobrachium manningi Pereira & Lasso, 2007 Macrobrachium mazatecum Mejía-Ortíz & López-Mejía, 2011 Macrobrachium mekongense Đăng, 1998 Macrobrachium meridionale Liang & Yan, 1983 Macrobrachium mexicanum (de Saussure, 1857) Macrobrachium microps Holthuis, 1978 Macrobrachium mieni Đăng, 1975 Macrobrachium minutum (Roux, 1917) Macrobrachium miyakoense Komai & Fujita, 2005 Macrobrachium moorei (Calman, 1899) Macrobrachium myanmarum Myo, Jayachandran & Khin, 2021 Macrobrachium naiyanetri Siriwut in Siriwut, Jeratthitikul, Panha, Chanabun & Sutcharit, 2020 Macrobrachium naso (Kemp, 1918) Macrobrachium nattereri (Heller, 1862) Macrobrachium natulorum Holthuis, 1984 Macrobrachium neglectum (De Man, 1905) Macrobrachium nepalense Kamita, 1974 Macrobrachium ngankeeae de Mazancourt, Marquet, Wowor & Keith, 2024 Macrobrachium nigramnis (Kensley & Walker, 1982) Macrobrachium niloticum (Roux, 1833) Macrobrachium niphanae Shokita & Takeda, 1989 Macrobrachium nipponense (De Haan, 1849) Macrobrachium nobilii (Henderson & Matthai, 1910) Macrobrachium novaehollandiae (De Man, 1908) Macrobrachium oaxacae Mejía-Ortíz & López-Mejía, 2011 Macrobrachium oblitum Carvalho & De Grave, 2026 Macrobrachium occidentale Holthuis, 1950 Macrobrachium oenone (De Man, 1902) Macrobrachium ohione (Smith, 1874) Macrobrachium olfersii (Wiegmann, 1836) Macrobrachium oxyphilus Ng, 1992 Macrobrachium palmopilosum Siriwut in Siriwut, Jeratthitikul, Panha, Chanabun & Sutcharit, 2020 Macrobrachium panamense Rathbun, 1912 Macrobrachium panhai Chaowvieng & Siriwut in Chaowvieng, Sutcharit, Chanabun, Srisonchai, Jeratthitikul & Siriwut, 2024 Macrobrachium pantanalense Dos Santos, Hayd & Anger, 2013 Macrobrachium parasintangense Nguyên, 2004 (nomen dubium) Macrobrachium parvum Jiang & Zhou in Jiang, Zhou, Ma, Wang, Xie & Chen, 2025 Macrobrachium patheinense Phone & Suzuki, 2004 Macrobrachium patsa (Coutière, 1899)