Oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Arthropoda · Class: Malacostraca · Order: Decapoda · Family: Palaemonidae · Genus: Macrobrachium.

Accepted name: Macrobrachium nipponense · Authority: (De Haan, 1849) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 587405.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Macrobrachium meishanense Tan & Lu, 1992; Macrobrachium obtusifrons Dai, 1984; Palaemon asper Stimpson, 1860; Palaemon nipponense De Haan, 1849; Palaemon sinensis Heller, 1862.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=587405 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Macrobrachium nipponense. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Habitat zone: benthic.

SeaLifeBase notes: Can live at a range of salinities from brackish to entirely freshwater, and can immediately adapt into the transition in three generations (Ref. 115281). Detritivore (Ref. 115295).

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 24940) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Macrobrachium-nipponense.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

2,578 georeferenced occurrence records for Macrobrachium nipponense are published through GBIF from 25 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 29 distinct locations from a sample of 2,578 records, omitting 191 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Chinese Taipei (1,874); Japan (237); Korea, Republic of (163); China (105); United States of America (55).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2224515) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2224515&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=587405 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Macrobrachium nipponense (De Haan, 1849) as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 197726) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/197726/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2224515) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2224515/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.