Freshwater crabs of Rwanda are an understudied and an undercollected group. Rwanda is home to a few species of freshwater crabs, primarily belonging to the family Potamonautidae, which is the dominant family of freshwater crabs in Africa. The most well-known species found in Rwanda include: Potamonautes loveni, Potamonautes aloysiisabaudiae, Potamonautes obesus, Potamonautes niloticus, Potamonautes lirrangensis, and Potamonautes emini. These species of freshwater crabs are crucial to the health of Rwanda's aquatic ecosystems, contributing to the balance of the food web and the overall biodiversity of the region. However, many of these species are under pressure from habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change, making their conservation an important priority.
IUCN Redlist Checklist
Freshwater Crabs - CoEB Natural History Museum. Occurrence dataset (ID: 590928f5-9efe-439d-a217-aa660a0ab329) accessed via the Rwanda Biodiversity Specimen Portal, rwandabiodiversity.net, 2025-01-28).