Redescription ofPotamonautes sidneyi(Rathbun, 1904) (Decapoda, Potamonautidae) and description of a new congeneric species from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
A new species of freshwater crab,Potamonautes danielsisp. n., is described from the southern region of the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.Potamonautes danielsimost closely resemblesPotamonautes sidneyiwhich 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 1stgonopod. In a previous study (Gouws et al. 2015), a 9.2-11.8 % divergence was found in the mitochondrial COI and 16S genes of thePotamonautes sidneyiclade, 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.
DST/NRF Research Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa.
Nasreen
N
Peer
South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa.
Gavin
G
Gouws
Division of Invertebrate Zoology, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, PO Box 208118, New Haven, CT 06520-8118, USA.
Eric
E
Lazo-Wasem
DST/NRF Research Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa.
Renzo
R
Perissinotto
DST/NRF Research Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa.
Nelson A F
NA
Miranda
Brachyura; KwaZulu-Natal; Taxonomy; freshwater; morphometrics