"The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Crabs [West Africa]" Neil Cumberlidge Northern Michigan University

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Northern Michigan University The Commons Book Sections/Chapters 2009 "The status and distribution of freshwater crabs [West Africa]" Neil Cumberlidge Northern Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.nmu.edu/facwork_bookchapters Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Cumberlidge N. 2009. Chapter 6. The ts atus and distribution of freshwater crabs. In: The tS atus and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in Western Africa. Compilers: Smith, K.G., Diop, M.D., Niane, M. and Darwall, W.R.T. IUCN & Wetlands International report. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: pp56-72 This Book Section/Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by The ommonC s. It has been accepted for inclusion in Book Sections/Chapters by an authorized administrator of The ommonC s. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Chapter 6. The status and distribution of freshwater crabs Cumberlidge, N.1 6.1 Overview of western Africa freshwater crab fauna ............................................................................................................................................56 6.1.1 Freshwater crab distribution and freshwater ecoregions .....................................................................................................................57 6.2 Conservation status (IUCN Red List Criteria: Regional Scale)....................................................................................................................58 6.2.1 Species assessed as Critically Endangered................................................................................................................................................58 6.2.2 Species assessed as Endangered ...................................................................................................................................................................59 6.2.3 Species assessed as Vulnerable......................................................................................................................................................................60 6.2.4 Species assessed as Least Concern ..............................................................................................................................................................60 6.2.5 Species assessed as Data Deficient..............................................................................................................................................................62 6.3 Patterns of species richness........................................................................................................................................................................................62 6.3.1 All freshwater crab species............................................................................................................................................................................63 6.3.2 Threatened species ..........................................................................................................................................................................................65 6.3.3 Restricted range species.................................................................................................................................................................................65 6.3.4 Data Deficient species ...................................................................................................................................................................................67 6.4 Major threats to freshwater crabs............................................................................................................................................................................67 6.4.1 Natural predator..............................................................................................................................................................................................67 6.4.2 Pollution ............................................................................................................................................................................................................68 6.4.3 Threats in the Upper Guinea and Lower Guinea forests ....................................................................................................................68 6.4.4 Taxonomic issues.............................................................................................................................................................................................68 6.5 Conservation recommendations .............................................................................................................................................................................69 6.6 References.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................70 Freshwater crabs (Potamonautidae, Potamoidea) are among the endemics (such as Potamonautes senegalensis and Liberonautes most important invertebrates inhabiting African fresh waters, nimba from Senegal and Mt Nimba respectively), localised taxa but until recently were poorly known due to a general lack of (such as Sudanonautes kagoroensis, S. nigeria, and Potamonemus interest and insufficient taxonomic knowledge (Cumberlidge sachsi from Nigeria and Cameroon), and wide ranging species 1999). Many species from the western African region are (such as Liberonautes latidactyus, which is found from Senegal to represented by only a handful of individuals, while those species Ghana, S. africanus, which is found from Nigeria to the DRC that are more plentiful have often proved problematic to identify. and Gabon, and S. floweri, which found from Togo to the DRC, These large and conspicuous crustaceans are present in almost and as far east as Sudan and Uganda). all freshwater habitats in western Africa, from montane habitats with mountain streams to large lowland rivers and small water bodies (Cumberlidge 1999). In addition, species that live in 6.1 Overview of western Africa seasonally arid areas tend to be semi-terrestrial, live in burrows, freshwater crab fauna and move about on land at night (Cumberlidge 1999). Isolation related to complicated topography and the fragmentary nature of The 32 species of freshwater crabs found in west African wetland habitats in much of western Africa, and limited dispersal countries dealt with by Cumberlidge (1999) represent about abilities due to reproduction by direct development, are probably one-quarter (23%) of the species presently known from the responsible for much of the diversity and endemism of these crabs entire Afrotropical region (Bott 1955, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1969, (Cumberlidge et al. 2009). Distribution data have been derived 1970; Monod 1977, 1980; Cumberlidge 1985a, 1997, 1999). from specimen records, but are still likely to be incomplete. Some The afrotropical region hosts 134 species of freshwater crabs in species are either known only from the type locality or from only 20 genera and two families: Potamonautidae Bott, 1970, and a few localities, and further collections are necessary to ascertain Potamidae Ortmann, 1896 (Cumberlidge 1999, Cumberlidge their actual distribution. Distributional ranges include point and Sternberg 2002, Daniels et al. 2006, Cumberlidge et al. Department of Biology, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan, USA 56 Liberonautes latidactyus LC. Photo: © Piotr Naskrecki. consist mainly of tropical and subtropical coastal rivers and together comprise the Upper Guinea Forest of west Africa, are both home to endemic species of freshwater crabs. Four species of Afrithelphusa are found only in Northern Upper Guinea, while Globonautes macropus is an Upper Guinea endemic. The Southern Upper Guinea ecoregion in Liberia is home to three endemic species of Liberonautes (L. nanoides, paludicolis, L. grandbassa) and two non-endemic species (L. latidactylus and L. rubigimanus). The small upland ecoregion of Mount Nimba, situated where the borders of Liberia, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire meet, is characterized by montane freshwaters and is home to one endemic species of freshwater crab, L. nimba, and a second non-endemic species (L. rubigimanus) (Cumberlidge and Huget 2003). All remaining ecoregions in western Africa exhibit little correspondence between freshwater crab distribution patterns and ecoregion boundaries. For example, there are no endemic species 2008, Yeo et al. 2008). The western African region as defined of freshwater crab found in any of the four ecoregions included in the present work includes 25 species of freshwater crabs that in the Niger River drainage basin that dominates western Africa. belong to six genera: Liberonautes, Sudanonautes, Globonautes, The Niger River basin is characterized by P. ecorssei, a widespread Afrithelphusa, Potamonemus, and Potamonautes (Cumberlidge and common species of freshwater crab found along its entire 1999). All of these genera are in the Potamonautidae and all length. The Upper Niger River and the Inner Niger Inland delta are endemic to western Africa, except for Sudanonautes (which ecoregions are both home to L. latidactylus, another common ranges into central Africa) and Potamonautes (which is poorly and widespread species found in western west Africa (but not represented in western Africa, with the
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