Two new species of freshwater crabs from the highlands of northern Uganda, East Africa and a redescription of Potamonautes amalerensis (Rathbun, 1935) stat. rev. from Mount Kadam (Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae)

  • Neil Cumberlidge Department of Biology, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI
  • Paul F. Clark Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD
Keywords: Potamonautes imatongensis sp. nov., Potamonautes morotoensis sp. nov., Imatong Mountains, Mount Moroto, Mount Kadam

Abstract

Two new species of potamonautid freshwater crabs are described from the Imatong Mountains and Mount Moroto in northern Uganda, East Africa, and a third highland species, Potamonautes amalerensis (Rathbun, 1935) stat. rev. from Mount Kadam is re-diagnosed based on examination of the holotype. All three species are endemic to a different mountain range and their collection localities indicate a distinct preference for higher altitudes. Diagnoses, illustrations and distribution maps are provided for these taxa, and they are compared to similar species from the region. The conservation status of all three species is discussed.

References

Barnley G.R. & Prentice M.A. 1958. Simulium neavei in Uganda. East African Medical Journal 35: 475.

Bott R. 1955. Die Süβwasserkrabben von Afrika und ihre Stammesgeschichte. Annales du Musée Royal du Congo belge 1 (3): 209–352.

Chace F.A. 1942. Scientific results of a fourth expedition to forested areas in eastern Africa, III: Decapod Crustacea. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 91 (3): 185–233. available from http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4788521 [accessed 18 Feb. 2016]

Crosskey R.W. 1990. The Natural History of Blackflies. John Wiley & Sons, London. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007485300053323

Cumberlidge N. 1997. The African and Madagascan freshwater crabs in the Museum of Natural History, Vienna (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamoidea). Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien 99B: 571–589.

Cumberlidge N. 1998. The African and Madagascan freshwater crabs in the Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamoidea). Spixiana 21 (3): 193–214.

Cumberlidge N. 1999. The Freshwater Crabs of West Africa, Family Potamonautidae. Faune et Flore tropicales 35, IRD, Paris.

Cumberlidge N. 2008. Potamonautes amalerensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. Available at www.iucnredlist.org [accessed on 24 Feb. 2015].

Cumberlidge N. & Clark P.F. 2010. Two new species of freshwater crabs from Mt. Elgon, East Africa (Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae) with a redescription of Potamonautes niloticus (A. Milne-Edwards, 1887) and notes on their natural history. Journal of Natural History 44: 1807–1829. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222931003678792

Cumberlidge N. & Clark P.F. 2012. The freshwater crabs of Ethiopia, northeastern Africa, with the description of a new Potamonautes cave species (Brachyura: Potamonautidae). Contributions to Zoology 81: 235–251.

Cumberlidge N., Ng P.K.L., Yeo D.C.J., Magalhaes C., Campos M.R., Alvarez F., Naruse T., Daniels S.R., Esser L.J., Attipoe F.Y.K., Clotilde-Ba F.-L., Darwall W., McIvor A., Baillie J.E.M., Collen B. & Ram M. 2009. Freshwater crabs and the biodiversity crisis: Importance, threats, status, and conservation challenges. Biological Conservation 142 (8): 1665–1673. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.02.038

Cumberlidge N. & Meyer K.S. 2011. The freshwater crabs of Lake Kivu (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamonautidae). Journal of Natural History 45 (29–32): 1835–1857. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2011.562618

Hynes H.B.N., Williams T.R. & Kershaw W.E. 1961. Freshwater crabs and Simulium neavei in East Africa. I. – Preliminary observations made on the slopes of Mt. Elgon in December, 1960, and January, 1961. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 55: 197–201.

IUCN 2003. IUCN Species Survival Commission (2012) IUCN Red List categories and criteria. Version 3.1, 2nd edn, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

McMahon J.P., Highton R.B. & Goiny H. 1958. The eradication of Simulium neavei from Kenya. Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 19: 75–107.

Ng P.K.L., Guinot D. & Davie P. 2008. Systema Brachyuorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 17: 1–286.

Rathbun M.J. 1921. The brachyuran crabs collected by the American Museum Congo Exepedition, 1909–1915. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 43: 379–468. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26896893

Rathbun M.J. 1935. Scientific Results of an Expedition to Rain Forest Regions in Eastern Africa. 2. Crustacea. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 79: 23–28. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2828646

Williams T.R. 1968. The taxonomy of the East African river crabs and their association with the Simulium neavei complex. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 62 (1): 29–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0035-9203(68)90027-8

Williams T.R. 1991. Freshwater crabs and Simulium neavei in East Africa. III. morphological variation in Potamonautes loveni (Decapoda: Potamidae). Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 85: 181–188.

Williams T.R., Hynes H.B.N. & Kershaw W.E. 1964. Freshwater crabs and Simulium neavei in East Africa. II. Further observations made during a second visit to East Africa in February-April 1962. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 58: 159–168.

Published
2016-03-17
How to Cite
Cumberlidge, N., & Clark, P. F. (2016). Two new species of freshwater crabs from the highlands of northern Uganda, East Africa and a redescription of Potamonautes amalerensis (Rathbun, 1935) stat. rev. from Mount Kadam (Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, (182). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2016.182