Potamonautes

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Potamonautes
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–Recent
Potamonautes sidneyi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Potamonautidae
Subfamily: Potamonautinae
Genus: Potamonautes
Macleay, 1838 [1]
Type species
Thelphusa perlata

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.[2] They are found in most freshwater habitats of the African mainland and some species are semi-terrestrial.[2]

Species

It contains the following species:[1][3]

One extant species is also known from the

fossil record;[4] P. niloticus is abundant in Miocene sediments (6 million years ago) of Lake Albert. Extinct species assigned to Potamonautes are also known from the Late Cretaceous of Niger.[5]

Distribution

Potamonautes are restricted to

Zambezi River in Southern Africa.[6]

References