''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 relea ...

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 ''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, 1968 * '' Potamonautes alluaudi'' (Bouvier, 1921) * '' Potamonautes aloysiisabaudiae'' (Nobili, 1906) * '' Potamonautes amalerensis'' (Rathbun, 1935) * '' Potamonautes antheus'' (Colosi, 1920) * '' Potamonautes anchietae'' (Brito Capello, 1871) * '' Potamonautes ballayi'' (A. Milne-Edwards, 1886) * ''

Potamonautes bayonianus ''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 berardi'' (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'' (Bott, 1960) * '' Potamonautes calcaratus'' (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 Int ...

'' (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 ''Le ...

'' ( 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'' (Chace, 1942) * '' Potamonautes ignestii'' (Parisi, 1923) * '' Potamonautes infravallatus'' ( Hilgendorf, 1898) * '' Potamonautes isimangaliso'' (Peer & Gouws, 2015) * ''

Potamonautes jeanneli ''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.; ...

'' (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 include ...

'' (Miers, 1885) * '' Potamonautes kensleyi'' Cumberlidge & Tavares, 2006 * '' Potamonautes langi'' (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'' (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'' (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 ''Potamonautes montivagus'' is a species of freshwater crustacean in the family Potamonautidae. It is native to southeastern Africa. Its natural habitat is river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing to ...

'' (Chace, 1953) * '' Potamonautes mutandensis'' (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'' (Colosi, 1924) * '' Potamonautes paecilei'' (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'' (Rathbun, 1921) * '' Potamonautes pilosus'' ( Hilgendorf, 1898) * '' Potamonautes platycentron'' Hilgendorf, 1897 * ''

Potamonautes platynotus ''Potamonautes platynotus'' is a species of freshwater crab which is endemic to Lake Tanganyika, where it is the only freshwater crab outside the genus ''Platythelphusa ''Platythelphusa'' is a genus of freshwater crabs endemism, endemic to L ...

'' (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 ''Potamonautes raybouldi'' is a species of freshwater crab. It lives in water-filled tree holes in forests in the eastern Usambara Mountains of Tanzania and the Shimba Hills in Kenya. It is threatened by deforestation resulting from the expansi ...

'' Cumberlidge & Vannini, 2004 * ''

Potamonautes reidi ''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, 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. It is endemic to Uganda. Its natural habitat is freshwater lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinc ...

'' Corace, Cumberlidge & Garms, 2001 * '' Potamonautes schubotzi'' (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'' (Rathbun, 1921) * '' Potamonautes suprasulcatus'' ( Hilgendorf, 1898) * '' Potamonautes triangulus'' 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'' (Rathbun, 1933) * ''

Potamonautes walderi ''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 warreni'' (Calman, 1918) * '' Potamonautes xiphoidus'' 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 in ...

; ''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 recen ...

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'', the ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesSub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

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 approxim ...

, 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 historical ...

(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, V ...

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 con ...

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 of ...

, 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, Maurit ...

. 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