FIRST RECORD OF THE ORIENTAL PRAWN <i>PALAEMON MACRODACTYLUS </i>(CRUSTACEA DECAPODA PALAEMONIDAE) IN THE TERRITORIAL WATERS OF RUSSIA IN THE BLACK SEA - AZOV BASIN
Oriental prawn Palaemon macrodactylus Rathbun, 1902 was recorded for the ﬁrst time in the waters of European part of Russia in the Kerch Strait (the Sea of Azov, Chushka Spit coast, Krasnodarskiy Region) in July 2018. The species natural distribution range is located in the North-West Paciﬁc while invasion range includes Atlantic coastal waters of Europe, Paciﬁc and Atlantic coasts of the USA, and the coast of Argentina. A caught ovigerous female shows some morphological diﬀerences in the armature and relative length of rostrum from the specimens collected in the marginal population of the natural distribution range (Peter the Great Bay). Since P. macrodactylus was discovered at the Romanian coast of the Black Sea in 2002, its occurrence in the region increased signiﬁcantly. Most probable vector is the invasion with ballast waters although the dispersal of larvae with currents can't be excluded. In this case established but still hidden populations in the coastal waters of Turkey and Georgia are expected to be discovered. P. macrodactylus is an active invader, colonizing transitional waters where it should be monitored in order to forecast consequences for local species and ecosystems.