Freshwater Cladoceran (Cladocera: Branchiopoda) Diversity of Lateritic Rarh Belt of West Bengal, India: A Review

Zooplankton are microscopic, non-motile, aquatic animals having multifaceted functionalities in aquatic system including trophic dynamics, pollution surveillance, amelioration etc. Systematic enumeration of plankton is of great biological relevance. Geographically, south-western part of West Bengal, including the districts of Murshidabad, Birbhum, Bankura, Puruliya, Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Bardhaman, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur, is characterised by a red, lateritic soil form and is frequently referred to as the “Rarh belt” or “Rarh Bengal”. Due to this unique edaphic factor the biodiversity herein is of special significance. Despite this fact, study on the diversity, abundance and distribution of zooplankton, emphasizing “Cladocera” as a group, in the water bodies of this area, is much unorganized, fragmentary and meagre till date. This review is an attempt to highlight the relevance of Cladocera as an important zooplankton group and provide a systematic catalogue of the Cladocera species recorded in this area till date. As many as 63 species of Cladocera, belonging to 6 families and 24 genera have been recorded from this lateritic red soil Rarh belt. However, it is suspected, the actual species richness of Cladocera in recent times may vary from the number recorded. Thus, there is a need of updation, revalidation and exploration of Cladoceran taxa in this region using modern techniques and current literature.