A revision of the freshwater crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamonautidae) of the Lake Kivu drainage basin in Central and East Africa
Author
Meyer, Kirstin S.
Author
Cumberlidge, Neil
text
Zootaxa
2011
3011
45
58
journal article
46436
10.5281/zenodo.207971
5356b007-a4f0-4717-9c58-053282421c27
1175-5326
207971
Potamonautes semilunaris
Bott, 1955
(
Fig. 9–11
,
Table 1
,
2
)
Potamonautes (Rotundopotamonautes) emini
semilunaris—
Bott 1955
: 291
, fig. 43; plate 24, fig. 2a–d.
Potamonautes
semilunaris—
Ng
et al.
2008: 171;
Cumberlidge
et al.
2009
: appendix item 954.
Type
material examined.
DR CONGO
: Terifwazi, southwest of Mount Kahuzi, near Lake Kivu, adult male
lectotype
(CW 20.0, CL 13.7,
CH
6.7, FW 5.2), adult male (CW 21.0, CL 14.7,
CH
7.0, FW 5.0), adult male (CW 17.9, CL 13.0,
CH
6.6, FW 4.3), adult female (CW 19.5, CL 14.4,
CH
7.5, FW 4.8), juvenile (CW 12.4, CL 9.3,
CH
4.9, FW 3.0) (R. Laurent) (
SMF
2429).
Diagnosis.
Carapace medium height (
CH
/FW 1.3), surface smooth, postfrontal crest incomplete, epigastric crests not meeting postorbital crests, latter crests granulated laterally; exorbital, epibranchial teeth absent; horizontal sulcus on carapace sidewall lacking granules; ischium of third maxilliped with faint vertical sulcus; sternal sulcus s2/s3 deep; s3/s4 present at sides, missing in middle, not meeting top of sac; first carpal tooth on carpus of cheliped distinct, pointed; second carpal tooth small, pointed; distal meral tooth of P1 merus distinct, pointed; fixed finger of propodus lined by small, rounded teeth, with two prominent ones in proximal region; dactylus of major cheliped slender, fingers enclosing oval interspace, dactylus lined by small, rounded teeth, with prominent one about a third of the way along dactylus; terminal article of G1 slim, strongly curved outward, crescent shaped; lateral, medial folds low, even; groove on terminal article not visible on dorsal face; dorsal membrane broad, margins of equal width (
Fig. 9
,
10
).
Size.
A small species with an adult size range of CW
21–22 mm
.
Type
locality.
DR Congo
, Terifwazi, southwest of Mount Kahuzi, near Lake Kivu (
Fig. 11
).
Conservation status.
Potamonautes semilunaris
was listed as “data deficient” (
IUCN
2003;
Cumberlidge
et al.
2009
). This species is known from only two localities in the
DR Congo
, but further information on its range, ecological requirements, population size, population trends, and long-term threats is lacking (
Cumberlidge 2008d
).
Distribution.
DR Congo
, Bunyakiri and Terifwazi, adjacent to Lake Kivu (
Fig. 11
;
Table 2
).
Remarks.
Potamonautes semilunaris
was described by
Bott (1955)
as a subspecies of
P. e m i n i
(
Hilgendorf, 1892
).
Potamonautes semilunaris
can nevertheless be easily distinguished from
P. emini
by the following characters: the postfrontal crest is distinct and complete in
P. e m i n i
but incomplete in
P. semilunaris
; the terminal article of G1 is short and laterally directed with an upturned tip in
P. emini
but long, slim, and inwardly curved in
P. s e m i - lunaris
; the medial fold of the terminal article of G1 is higher than the lateral fold in
P. e m i n i
and the groove between the two is visible on the dorsal face, whereas the lateral and medial folds are low and even in
P. semilunaris
and the groove between them is not visible on the dorsal face; and by the uneven margins of the dorsal membrane of G1, which in
P. e m i n i
are narrower than the lateral margin and the proximal margin is U-shaped, whereas in
P. semilunaris
the medial and lateral margins are of equal width and the proximal margin is straight (
Reed and Cumberlidge 2006
). In addition,
P. semilunaris
can be differentiated from
P. gonocristatus
and
P. m i n o r
by the mandibular palp, which lacks a small hard flap at the junction between the segments, and by the shape of the terminal article of G1, which is not widened in the middle in
P. semilunaris
but is widened in the middle in
P. gonocristatus
,
P. m i n o r,
and
P. perparvus
(
Table 1
).