Microprosthema semilaeve, one of the two species of stenopodid shrimps recorded from India, was hatched and reared to the sixth post larval stage in the laboratory. The only stenopodid larvae of known parentage previously described belong to two species of the genus Stenopus, in which there are nine or more zoeal stages. Larvae of M. semilaeve differ from these in having no dorsal spines and there are only four toeal stages. These and the first post-larva are described in details and the later (juvenil4) stages more briefly.

None of the previously described but unidentified larvae of the stenopodidae appears to belong to the genus Microprosthema