Macrobrachium hirtimanus Olivier, 1811:663
Betangue prawn
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Palaemon hirtimanus Olivier, 1811
Conservation Status
Missing (Keith, 2002; Keith et al., 2006; De Grave, 2013b; de Mazancourt et al., 2026)
Last record: 1980 (Kiener, 1981 fide de Mazancourt et al., 2026); 1980's (Jannel et al., 2026)
IUCN RedList status: Endangered
Recent eDNA surveys, totalling 19 sampling stations, did not record the species on Réunion (Jannel et al., 2026).
Distribution & Habitat
Mauritius & Réunion
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
The Turin Museum had specimens of this species in 1952 (Holthuis, 1952). However, whether or not the museum still has specimens is unclear.
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Olivier, A. G. (1811). Suite de l'Introduction à l'Histoire Naturelle des Insectes. Palèmon. In: Olivier, A.G., Encyclopédie Méthodique. Histoire Naturelle. Insectes, volume 8: 656-670. H. Agasse, Imprimeur-Libraire, Paris.
Other references:
De Grave, S. (2013a). Macrobrachium hirtimanus. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 14 July 2013.
De Grave, S. (2013b). Macrobrachium hirtimanus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T197879A2503622. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T197879A2503622.en. Downloaded on 31 October 2021.
De Grave, S.; Fransen, C.H.J.M. (2011). Carideorum catalogus: the recent species of the dendrobranchiate, stenopodidean, procarididean and caridean shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda). Zoologische Mededelingen, Leiden. 85(9): 195-589.
de Mazancourt, Valentin, Mennesson, Marion, Marquet, Gérard, Valade, Pierre and Keith, Philippe. (2026). NGS data from historical museum collections help to clarify the conservation status of endangered or supposedly extinct species: the case of the Mascarene endemic freshwater shrimp Macrobrachium hirtimanus (Olivier, 1811). Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst. 427: article 4. https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2025032
Holthuis, L. B. (1952). On some Indo-west Pacific Palaemoninae (Crustacea Decapoda Caridea). Zoologische Mededelingen, Leiden 31(18): 201-211.
Jannel, Lou-Anne, de Mazancourt, Valentin, Keith, Philippe, Jourand, Philippe and Valade, Pierre. (2026). Rediscovering the lost: eDNA detection of freshwater decapods on Réunion Island. Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst. 427: article 2. https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2025035
Keith, P. (2002). Freshwater fish and decapod crustacean populations on Reunion Island, with an assessment of species introductions. Bull. Fr. Pêche Piscic. 364: 97-107. doi:10.1051/kmae:2002005.
Keith, P., Marquet, G., Valade, P., Bosc, P. and Vigneux, E. (2006). Atlas des poissons et des crustacés d'eau douce des Comores, Mascareignes et Seychelles Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. Publications scientifiques du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.
Keith, P. and Vigneux, E. (2000). First capture of Macrobrachium lepidactylus (Hilgendorf, 1879) (PALAEMONIDAE) on Reunion Island, followed by a commentary on Macrobrachium hirtimanus (Olivier, 1811). Crustaceana 73(2): 215-222. [Abstract]
Kiener, A. (1981). Etude des problèmes piscicoles des eaux intérieures de la réunion (Rapport d’étude No. 25; Etudes du CEMAGREF, série Qualités des eaux-Pêche et pisciculture, CEMAGREF, p. 140.
Miers, E. J. (1879). Crustacea. In: An Account of the Petrological, Botanical, and Zoological Collections Made in Kerguelen’s Land and Rodriguez during the Transit of Venus Expeditions, Carried out by Order of Her Majesty’s Government in the Years 1874-75. Philos T R Soc Lond 168: 485-496.
Milne-Edwards, H. (1837). Histoire naturelle des crustacés, comprenant l’anatomie, la physiologie et la classification de ces animaux, Librairie encyclopédique de Roret, Paris. 510 pp.
Roux, J. (1934). Macroures d’eau douce de Madagascar et des îles voisines (Palémonidés et Atyidés). Faune des Colonies Françaises 5: 529-547.
Sharp, B. (1893). Catalogue of the crustaceans in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. P Acad Nat Sci Phila 45: 104-127.
Ward, M. (1942). Notes on the Crustacea of the Desjardins Museum, Mauritius Institute, with descriptions of new genera and species. Mauritius Inst Bull 2: 49-108.
White, A. (1847). List of the specimens of Crustacea in the collection of the British Museum. London: Edward Newman. 143 pp.
WoRMS. (2021). Macrobrachium hirtimanus (Olivier, 1811). Accessed at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=220136 on 2021-10-31
https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/1744/macrobrachium-hirtimanus-betangue-prawn