IDENTIFICATION OF A NEW SPECIES OF RIVER CRAB (DECAPODA, BRACHYURA, POTAMONAUTIDAE) FROM SOUTH-AFRICA USING MORPHOLOGICAL AND GENETIC DATA

Potamonautid river crabs were collected from 9 localities in Mpumalang a and Northern Province, South Africa. in order to determine morpholog ical and genetic variation among these populations. Based on the prese nce or absence of epibranchial teeth. gonopod I shape, and marked allo zyme divergence, 2 distinct forms were identified. The electrophoretic analysis of 11 enzyme systems, representing 14 presumptive loci, indi cated a genetic identity value (1) of 0.66 between the 2 forms and rev ealed the presence of 4 diagnostic loci. It was concluded that these f orms represented populations of Potamonautes sidneyi and populations o f a previously unknown species, which is described as Potamonautes uni spinus, new species, in this paper. A key to the known potamonautid ri ver crab species from Mpumalanga and Northern Province is also provide d.