''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African

freshwater crab Around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs are distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine crabs, which rele ...

s in the family

Potamonautidae Potamonautidae is a family of freshwater crabs endemic to Africa, including the islands of Madagascar, the Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mafia, Pemba, Bioko, São Tomé, Príncipe and Sherbro Island. It comprises 18 extant genera and 138 extant species. ...

. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; and Cumberlidge, N. (2014). Advances in Freshwater Decapod Systematics and Biology. Pp. 86-87. They are found in most freshwater habitats of the African mainland and some species are semi-

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

Species

It contains the following species: * '' Potamonautes adeleae'' Bott, 1968 * '' Potamonautes alluaudi'' (Bouvier, 1921) * '' Potamonautes aloysiisabaudiae'' (Nobili, 1906) * ''

Potamonautes amalerensis ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Rathbun, 1935) * ''

Potamonautes antheus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Colosi, 1920) * ''

Potamonautes anchietae ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Brito Capello, 1871) * ''

Potamonautes ballayi ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (A. Milne-Edwards, 1886) * '' Potamonautes bayonianus'' (Brito Capello, 1864) * ''

Potamonautes berardi ''Potamonautes berardi'' is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in the Nile Basin in Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Its natural habitats are rivers and stream A stream is a continuous body ...

'' (Audouin, 1826) * ''

Potamonautes bipartitus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' ( Hilgendorf, 1898) * ''

Potamonautes brincki ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Bott, 1960) * ''

Potamonautes calcaratus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Gordon, 1929) * ''

Potamonautes clarus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Gouws, Stewart & Coke, 2000 * ''

Potamonautes depressus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Krauss, 1843) * ''

Potamonautes dybowskii ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Rathbun, 1905) * ''

Potamonautes dentatus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Stewart, Coke & Cook, 1995 * ''

Potamonautes didieri ''Potamonautes didieri'' is a species of crab in the family Potamonautidae. It is endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but has not been observed for 100 years; it is therefore listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List The In ...

'' (Rathbun, 1904) * ''

Potamonautes dubius ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Brito Capello, 1864) * ''

Potamonautes ecorssei ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Marchand, 1902) * ''

Potamonautes emini ''Potamonautes emini'' is a species of crustacean in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in the Rwenzori Mountains between Lake Edward and Lake Albert in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. It is listed as ''L ...

'' ( Hilgendorf, 1892) * ''

Potamonautes gerdalensis ''Potamonautes gerdalensis'' is a species of crustacean in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are rivers and freshwater lakes. It is threatened by habi ...

'' Bott, 1955 * ''

Potamonautes granularis ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Daniels, Stewart & Gibbons, 1998 * ''

Potamonautes idjiwiensis ''Potamonautes idjiwiensis'' is a species of crustacean in the family Potamonautidae. It is endemic to the island of Idjwi in Lake Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises t ...

'' (Chace, 1942) * ''

Potamonautes ignestii ''Potamonautes ignestii'' is a species of crustacean in the family Potamonautidae Potamonautidae is a family of freshwater crabs endemic to Africa, including the islands of Madagascar, the Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mafia, Pemba, Bioko, São Tomé ...

'' (Parisi, 1923) * ''

Potamonautes infravallatus ''Potamonautes infravallatus'' is a species of crustacean in the family Potamonautidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitat is river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea ...

'' ( Hilgendorf, 1898) * ''

Potamonautes isimangaliso ''Potamonautes isimangaliso'' is a species of freshwater crustacean in the family Potamonautidae. It is endemic to iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa. Its natural habitat are the ephemeral wetlands fringing the western shores of False Bay. M ...

'' (Peer & Gouws, 2015) * '' Potamonautes jeanneli'' (Bouvier, 1921) * ''

Potamonautes johnstoni ''Potamonautes johnstoni'' is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in rivers in Kenya and Tanzania, with unconfirmed records from Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The species' distribution in ...

'' (Miers, 1885) * ''

Potamonautes kensleyi ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Cumberlidge & Tavares, 2006 * ''

Potamonautes langi ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Rathbun, 1921) *''

Potamonautes licoensis ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Daniels, Bittencourt-Silva, Muianga & Bayliss, 2020 * ''

Potamonautes lirrangensis ''Potamonautes lirrangensis'', the Malawi blue crab,Dobson, M. (2004). Freshwater Crabs of Africa.'' Freshwater Forum 21: 3-26. is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. This common and widespread species is found in Lake Mala ...

'' (Rathbun, 1904) * ''

Potamonautes lividus ''Potamonautes lividus'', also known as the blue river crab, is a species of decapod in the family Potamonautidae. ''P. lividus'' is endemic to the country of South Africa in a area of 200 kilometers squared. The species prefers inland freshwa ...

'' Gouws, Stewart & Reavell, 2001 * ''

Potamonautes loashiensis ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Bott, 1955 * ''

Potamonautes loveni ''Potamonautes loveni'' is a species of crab in the family Potamonautidae Potamonautidae is a family of freshwater crabs endemic to Africa, including the islands of Madagascar, the Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mafia, Pemba, Bioko, São Tomé, Prínci ...

'' (Colosi, 1924) * '' Potamonautes loveridgei'' (Rathbun, 1933) * ''

Potamonautes lueboensis ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Rathbun, 1904) * '' Potamonautes machadoi'' Bott, 1964 * ''

Potamonautes macrobrachii ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Bott, 1953 * '' Potamonautes margaritarius'' (A. Milne-Edwards, 1869) * '' Potamonautes montivagus'' (Chace, 1953) * ''

Potamonautes mutandensis ''Potamonautes mutandensis'' is an endangered species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in Lake Mutanda and Lake Kivu in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République dém ...

'' (Chace, 1953) * '' Potamonautes neumanni'' ( Hilgendorf, 1898) * ''

Potamonautes niloticus ''Potamonautes niloticus'' is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in the Nile Basin in Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda. Numerous specimens of ''P. niloticus'' are known from Miocene The Miocene ( ...

'' (H. Milne-Edwards, 1837) * '' Potamonautes obesus'' (A. Milne-Edwards, 1868) * ''

Potamonautes odhneri ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Colosi, 1924) * ''

Potamonautes paecilei ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (A. Milne-Edwards, 1886) * ''

Potamonautes parvicorpus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Daniels, Stewart & Burmeister, 2001 * '' Potamonautes parvispina'' Stewart, 1997 * '' Potamonautes perlatus'' (H. Milne-Edwards, 1837) * ''

Potamonautes preparvus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Rathbun, 1921) * '' Potamonautes pilosus'' ( Hilgendorf, 1898) * '' Potamonautes platycentron'' Hilgendorf, 1897 * '' Potamonautes platynotus'' (Cunnington, 1907) * ''

Potamonautes punctatus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Bott, 1955 * '' Potamonautes raybouldi'' Cumberlidge & Vannini, 2004 * '' Potamonautes reidi'' Cumberlidge, 1999 * '' Potamonautes rodolphianus'' (Rathbun, 1909) * ''

Potamonautes rothschildi ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Rathbun, 1909) * ''

Potamonautes rukwanzi ''Potamonautes rukwanzi'' is a species of crustacean in the family Potamonautidae Potamonautidae is a family of freshwater crabs endemic to Africa, including the islands of Madagascar, the Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mafia, Pemba, Bioko, São Tomé ...

'' Corace, Cumberlidge & Garms, 2001 * ''

Potamonautes schubotzi ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Balss, 1914) * '' Potamonautes semilunaris'' Bott, 1955 * ''

Potamonautes senegalensis ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Bott, 1970 * ''

Potamonautes sidneyi ''Potamonautes sidneyi'' is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. The common name is the Natal river crab or Sidney's river crab, although they may also be referred to as "river crabs", "fresh water crabs" or "land crabs". D ...

'' (Rathbun, 1904) * ''

Potamonautes stanleyensis ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Rathbun, 1921) * ''

Potamonautes suprasulcatus ''Potamonautes suprasulcatus'' is a species of crustacean in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. Its natural habitat is river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towa ...

'' ( Hilgendorf, 1898) * ''

Potamonautes triangulus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Bott, 1959 * ''

Potamonautes unispinus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Stewart & Cook, 1998 * ''

Potamonautes unisulcatus ''Potamonautes unisulcatus'' is a species of crustacean in the family Potamonautidae Potamonautidae is a family of freshwater crabs endemic to Africa, including the islands of Madagascar, the Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mafia, Pemba, Bioko, São To ...

'' (Rathbun, 1933) * '' Potamonautes walderi'' (Colosi, 1924) * ''

Potamonautes warreni ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' (Calman, 1918) * ''

Potamonautes xiphoidus ''Potamonautes'' is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent.Yeo, C.J.; Klaus, S.; ...

'' Reed & Cumberlidge, 2006 One extant species is also known from the

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

; ''P. niloticus'' is abundant in

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

sediments () of Lake Albert. Extinct species assigned to ''Potamonautes'' are also known from the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesSub-Saharan Africa and the

Nile Basin The Nile Basin is the part of Africa drained by the Nile River and its tributaries. Besides being the second largest hydrographic basin in Africa, the Nile Basin is effectively the most notable drainage basin on the continent. It covers approx ...

, with more than 30 species in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

(none on

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

and other offshore African islands), more than 20 in the

Congo Basin The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It c ...

region, 20 in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number ...

, 6 in

northeast Africa Northeast Africa, or ''Northeastern Africa'' or Northern East Africa as it was known in the past, is a geographic regional term used to refer to the countries of Africa situated in and around the Red Sea. The region is intermediate between North ...

and 5 in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

. Although the genus includes common and widespread species, others have very restricted ranges of occurrence. For example, ''P. dubious'' is found only in limited parts of the

Kunene River The Cunene (Portuguese spelling) or Kunene (common Namibian spelling) is a river in Southern Africa. It flows from the Angola highlands south to the border with Namibia. It then flows west along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

and upper

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

in Southern Africa.C.Michael Hogan. 2012
''Kunene River''. eds. P.Saundry & C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC.
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1384585 Potamoidea Decapod genera Extant Late Cretaceous first appearances Taxonomy articles created by Polbot