New Zealand has only a single species of decapod freshwater shrimp; Family Atyidae: Paratya curvirostris, in the entire country. It is the southernmost member of its family the Atyidae whose distribution includes the western edge of the Pacific Ocean from Siberia, through Asia, Indonesia and Australasia. P. curvirostris is found only in New Zealand (i.e. it is endemic) and has been found all the way from Northland to Stewart Island, and on the Chatham Islands. As its distribution moves south its upper altitudinal limit decreases suggesting temperature is an important factor limiting this distribution.