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Rwanda Biodiversity Specimen Portal

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Freshwater Crabs - CoEB Natural History Museum (UR-NHM-Fc)

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 loveniPotamonautes aloysiisabaudiae, Potamonautes obesusPotamonautes 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

Biodiversity Collections Data Manager: Michael Thomas, herbariumNHR@gmail.com
Freshwater crabs of Africa: biodiversity, distribution, and conservation." Neil Cumberlidge Northern Michigan University. 2011.: https://commons.nmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=facwork_bookchapters
Ecological Assessment of Two Species of Potamonautid Freshwater Crabs from the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe, with Implications for Their Conservation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4713832/
Collection Type: Preserved Specimens
Management: Live Data managed directly within data portal
Global Unique Identifier: 590928f5-9efe-439d-a217-aa660a0ab329
Digital Metadata: EML File
Rights Holder: University of Rwanda
Cite this collection:
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).
Address:
Center of Excellence in Biodiversity & Natl Res Management (CoEB)
University of Rwanda
P. O. Box 117
Huye, Southern Province   
Rwanda
25 078 857-6052
https://coebiodiversity.ur.ac.rw/
Collection Statistics
  • 15 specimen records
  • 15 (100%) georeferenced
  • 1 (7%) with images (2 total images)
  • 7 (47%) identified to species
  • 1 families
  • 1 genera
  • 1 species
  • 1 total taxa (including subsp. and var.)
Extra Statistics
Show Geographic Distribution
Show Family Distribution