Potamon algeriense

Potamon algeriense
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Potamidae
Genus: Potamon
Species: P. algeriense
Binomial name
Potamon algeriense
Bott, 1967
Synonyms [1]
  • Potamon fluviatile algeriensis
    Bott, 1967
  • Potamon fluviatile berghetripsorum
    Pretzmann, 1976

Potamon algeriense is a freshwater crab found in North Africa.

Systematics

P. algeriense is a close relative of the European species Potamon fluviatile, of which it was formerly considered a subspecies.[2]

Biogeography

Potamon algeriense has a wide but patchy distribution across Tunisia (Jendouba, Béja, Kairouan and Gafsa Governorates), Algeria (Algiers, Médéa and Béjaïa Provinces) and Morocco (Kénitra and Fes Provinces).[1]

P. algeriense is the only member of the freshwater crab family Potamidae in mainland Africa, which is otherwise dominated by the family Potamonautidae. It is presumed to have arrived from Italy during the Messinian salinity crisis 5–7 million years ago.[3]

References

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