Redescription of Potamonautes sidneyi (Rathbun, 1904) (Decapoda, Potamonautidae) and description of a new congeneric species from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

By

Peer, Nasreen
Gouws, Gavin
Lazo-Wasem, Eric A.
Perissinotto, Renzo
Miranda, Nelson A.F.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017-2-16

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

657

Pages

1--28

Subjects

Brachyura , freshwater , KwaZulu-Natal , morphometrics , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.657.11623

 

Abstract

A new species of freshwater crab, Potamonautes danielsi sp. n., is described from the southern region of the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Potamonautes danielsi most closely resembles P. sidneyi which is re-described here, but can be distinguished by a suite of key morphological characters including carapace shape and width, slim pereopods, inflated propodi of the chelipeds, and the shape and terminal segment length:subterminal segment length ratio of the 1st gonopod. In a previous study (Gouws et al. 2015), a 9.2–11.8 % divergence was found in the mitochondrial COI and 16S genes of the P. sidneyi clade, allowing for the delineation of a new species. Despite the clear molecular distinction between the two species, it is difficult to separate them based on individual morphological characters, as there is a great deal of overlap even among key features. The new species is found in slow-moving mountain streams and pools at high altitudes between Umhlanga and Mtamvuna, in KwaZulu-Natal.