A new species of Potamonautes from Sao Tome Island, Central Africa, with redescriptions of P. margaritarius (A. Milne-Edwards, 1869) from Sao Tome, and P. principe Cumberlidge, Clark and Baillie, 2002, from Principe (Decapoda: Potamonautidae)
Date
2018
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Brill
Abstract
Surveys of the freshwater crabs of two islands in the Gulf of
Guinea, Central Africa, allowed a revision of the taxonomy
of two little-known island endemic species, based for the
first time on adult males: Potamonautes margaritarius (A.
Milne-Edwards, 1869) from São Tomé, and of P. principe
Cumberlidge, Clark and Baillie, 2002, from Príncipe (Brachyura;
Potamonautidae). A new species of Potamonautes from southern
São Tomé (Potamonautes saotome sp. nov.) is also described
that is genetically distinct and has a clearly separate geographic
distribution from P. margaritarius from northern São Tomé. The
new species from southern São Tomé can be recognized by a suite
of characters of the carapace, thoracic sternum, and gonopods.
The taxonomy of P. margaritarius (A. Milne-Edwards, 1869)
is stabilized by selecting a neotype from northern São Tomé.
Potamonautes principe from Príncipe is the most distinct of
the three taxa, with a more swollen carapace that has smooth
anterolateral margins, and a shorter, straighter male first
gonopod. All three taxa are morphologically distinct species that
have also been clearly distinguished as evolutionarily separate
lineages by mtDNA analysis and haplotyping in an earlier study.
Previous phylogenetic evidence supports two separate island
colonization events at different times in the past from different
ancestral populations, one to São Tomé and another to Príncipe
that resulted in the establishment of the endemic freshwater crab
faunas of these two islands.
Description
CITATION: Cumberlidge, N. & Daniels, S. R. 2018. A new species of Potamonautes from Sao Tome Island, Central Africa, with redescriptions of P. margaritarius (A. Milne-Edwards, 1869) from Sao Tome, and P. principe Cumberlidge, Clark and Baillie, 2002, from Principe (Decapoda: Potamonautidae). Contributions to Zoology, 87(4):287-303, doi:10.1163/18759866-08704005 .
The original publication is available at https://brill.com
The original publication is available at https://brill.com
Keywords
Freshwater crabs, Freshwater crabs -- South Africa -- Classification, Crabs
Citation
Cumberlidge, N. & Daniels, S. R. 2018. A new species of Potamonautes from Sao Tome Island, Central Africa, with redescriptions of P. margaritarius (A. Milne-Edwards, 1869) from Sao Tome, and P. principe Cumberlidge, Clark and Baillie, 2002, from Principe (Decapoda: Potamonautidae). Contributions to Zoology, 87(4):287-303, doi:10.1163/18759866-08704005