| Macrobrachium | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Macrobrachium rosenbergii , the giant freshwater prawn, a commercially important species | |
 | |
| Macrobrachium latidactylus , scissor river prawn from the Philippines | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Caridea |
| Family: | Palaemonidae |
| Genus: | Macrobrachium Spence Bate, 1868 |
| Type species | |
| Macrobrachium americanum Bate, 1868 [1] | |
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. [2]
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Large dams, which inhibit reproduction and migration of Macrobrachium species, have been implicated in the spread of schistosomiasis, a disease caused by flatworms carried by snails. As these prawns are predators of the snails, damming has caused marked increases in schistosomiasis in humans around dammed areas and studies suggest that restoration of Macrobrachium populations could benefit around 300 million people, one third to one half of the at-risk population. [3]
