Diversity of Lateritic Plateau Crabs at Chalkewadi (MS), their Endemism and Distribution in Western Ghats, India

The Chalkewadi is a high-elevated lateritic plateau, of Satara district, Western Ghats of Maharashtra. It is an ideal grassland featuring seasonally blooming flora, seasonal streams, small basins, and it also serves as the origin of the Tarali River. Over a last two-years, the plateau was investigated to study the diversity, distribution, and endemism of freshwater plateau crabs along with their behaviour, supported by WWF India’s Conservation Catalyst Programme for least concerned species. Despite the relatively small geographical area of the Chalkewadi Plateau, the study documented f ive freshwater crab species Inglethelphusa fronto (Alcock, 1909), Sahyadriana alcocki (Pati in Pati, Thackeray & Khaire, 2016), Barytelphusa cunicularis (westwood in Sykes, 1836), Ghatiana pulchra Pati & Thackeray, 2018, and Barusa gracillima (Pati & Yeo, 2022a). However, there is lack of knowledge about the habitat preferences, ecological roles, and population dynamics underscoring need of further research.