POTAMONAUTIDAE Bott, 1970

Reed, Sadie K. & Cumberlidge, Neil, 2006, Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae, Platythelphusidae, Deckeniidae (), Zootaxa 1262 (1), pp. 1-139 : 1-139

FAMILY POTAMONAUTIDAE Bott, 1970

Genus Potamonautes MacLeay, 1838 (Figs. 1–186, Plates I–XIV)

Type species. Thelphusa perlata H. Milne Edwards, 1837

Diagnosis. Members of the genus Potamonautes can be recognized as follows: mandibular palp two­segmented, anterolateral margin lacking intermediate tooth between exorbital and epibranchial teeth; exopod of third maxilliped with long flagellum; terminal article of gonopod 1 short (about one quarter to one third as long as subterminal segment of gonopod 1), terminal article of gonopod 2 with long flagellum about 0.5–0.75 times as long as subterminal segment of gonopod 2.

Remarks. More than 60 species of Potamonautes are found in continental Africa ( Bott 1959, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1970; Cumberlidge 1999; Stewart 1997a, b; Stewart et al. 1995; Stewart & Cook 1998; Daniels et al. 1998, 2001; Corace et al. 2001; Gouws et al. 2001; Cumberlidge et al. 2002; Cumberlidge & Vannini 2004; Cumberlidge & Tavares 2006). The species of Potamonautes with representatives in Tanzania were assigned to five different subgenera by Bott (1955). However, none of Bott’s (1955) subgenera are recognized here due to doubts about these categories that have been expressed by several authors ( Cumberlidge 1997, 1998, 1999; Cumberlidge & Boyko 2000; Daniels et al. 2002; Cumberlidge & Tavares, 2006).

Distribution. The vast majority of the species of Potamonautes are found in continental Africa south of the Sahara, although two are found along the Nile valley as far north as Cairo, Egypt (Cumberlidge 1999). At least 30 species are found in East Africa, with 14 of these occurring in Tanzania ( Reed 2003).