Potamonautinae Bott 1970
Creators: name: Cumberlidge, Neil
name: Daniels, Savel R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Decapoda
Potamonautidae

description: SUBFAMILY POTAMONAUTINAE BOTT, 1970
(FIGS 1B, 4, 6, 8A; TABLES 1–3)
Diagnosis: Potamonautinae are recognized by the lack of an intermediate tooth between the exorbital and epibranchial teeth on the anterolateral margin of the carapace, by the elongated G2 TA, 0.9 × the G2 SA length (Fig. 4C, F, I) and by the exopod of the third maxilliped that has a flagellum that is subequal in length to the exopod (Figs 4A–I, 5A–E).
Type genus: Potamonautes MacLeay, 1838, by monotypy, gender masculine.
Etymology: Potamonautinae is derived from the family level name Potamonautidae Bott, 1970 and this subfamily is assigned here to the Potamonautidae.
Tr i b e s i n c l u d e d: E r i m e t o p i n i t r i b e n o v., Maritimonautini tribe nov. and Potamonautini (Bott, 1970) stat. nov.
Genera included: Arcopotamonautes (Bott, 1955) stat. nov., Erimetopus Rathbun, 1894, Lirrangopotamonautes (Bott, 1955) stat. nov., Longipotamonautes (Bott, 1955) stat. nov., Maritimonautes gen. nov., Nesonautes gen. nov., Occidensonautes gen. nov., Platythelphusa A. Milne- Edwards, 1887, Potamonautes MacLeay, 1838 s.s. and Rotundopotamonautes (Bott, 1955) stat. nov.
Distribution: Potamonautinae is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa in the following regions and countries: West Africa (from Senegal to Nigeria), São Tomé Island, Central Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of the Congo and the D.R. Congo), eastern and northern Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt, Somalia) and southern Africa (Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho) (Fig. 8A).
Remarks: Potamonautinae is a monophyletic assemblage (Fig. 1B) with three main lineages, the Maritimonautini for Maritimonautes (Fig. 1B 1), the Congowestini (Fig. 1B 2) for Erimetopus, Longipotamonautes, Nesonautes and Occidensonautes and the Potamonautini (Fig. 1B 3) for Arcopotamonautes, Lirrangopotamonautes, Platythelphusa, Potamonautes s. s. and Rotundopotamonautes. The relationships in the updated phylogeny (Fig. 1B) agree with those of Daniels & Klaus (2018) and Wood et al. (2019) each of which recovered a well-supported clade (Fig. 1B, the Potamonautinae) with the three lineages that are recognized here as three tribes (Fig. 1B1, B 2, B3). Divergence within the Potamonautinae took place 23.41 Mya during the Oligocene-Miocene when the earliest clade (the Maritimonautini; Fig. 1B1) branched off. This was followed by the Erimetopini (Fig. 1B 2), which diverged 22.03 Mya, and by the Potamonautini (Fig. 1B 3), which diverged 21.10 Mya.
description: Published as part of Cumberlidge, Neil & Daniels, Savel R., 2022, A new multilocus phylogeny reveals overlooked diversity in African freshwater crabs (Brachyura: Potamoidea): a major revision with new higher taxa and genera, pp. 1268-1311 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 194 (4) on pages 1283-1284, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab082, http://zenodo.org/record/6461478