Surveys of Afrotemperate forests yields two new freshwater crabs (Decapoda: Potamonautidae: Potamonautes MacLeay, 1838)  from South Africa

Daniels, Savel R.; Barnes, Aaron; Marais, Hannes; Gouws, Gavin

doi:10.5852/ejt.2021.782.1591

Cited by 664 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…COI. We used COI sequences KR907052–KR907055 from Daniels et al (2016) and sequences MZ853197–MZ853202 from Barnes and Daniels et al (2021).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the forested region of Baziya is a reserve, there seems to be very little direct protection offered to these taxa or to any other potential narrow endemic invertebrate species present in these forests. Furthermore, the Baziya forest complex appears to have been highly neglected during biodiversity surveys; it also harbors a new, recently described freshwater crab, as well as a genetically isolated population of the Natal Black snake (Busschau et al, 2022;Daniels et al, 2021). Thus, the detection of diversity is key for the development and prioritization of adequate management plans and future active protection and, specifically for Baziya, the establishment of a more effective conservation regime.…”

Section: A Lack Of Reliable Morphological Taxonomic Features Amongmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Refining species boundaries among velvet worms (Onychophora, Peripatopsidae), with the description of two new species of Opisthopatus from South Africa

Barnes

Daniels

2022

Invertebrate Biology

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In the present study, two new species of velvet worm, Opisthopatus, from the Eastern Cape province of South Africa are described. We used both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data (cytochrome oxidase subunit I [COI] and 18S rRNA subunit [18S]) to explore the possibility that species boundaries in Opisthopatus have been underestimated. A previous fine‐scale phylogeographic study of the velvet worm Opisthopatus amaxhosa demonstrated the presence of two distinct clades, of which the first could be assigned to O. amaxhosa and the second represented a novel as yet undescribed species. In addition, specimens of Opisthopatus from the Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo Nature Reserve, Graaff‐Reinet, were not assigned to a new species in the most recent taxonomic revision because of the limited number of specimens. Following recent collection and scanning electron microscopy, we assigned the Graaff‐Reinet specimens to Opisthopatus camdebooi sp. nov. and the second lineage in sympatry with O. amaxhosa we described as Opisthopatus baziya sp. nov. The application of four species delimitation methods (Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning [ASAP], Poisson Tree Processes [PTP], generalized mixed Yule‐coalescent model [GMYC], and Species Tree and Classification Estimation, Yarely [STACEY]) generally revealed congruent groupings across clades, suggesting that the alpha taxonomic diversity in Opisthopatus has been underestimated. The continued discovery of new velvet worm species in poorly or unsampled areas suggests that several novel species might still be undescribed in South Africa. Collectively, our results suggest that fine‐scale sampling is critical to detect and describe the biodiversity of other saproxylic taxa.

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“…COI. We used COI sequences KR907052–KR907055 from Daniels et al (2016) and sequences MZ853197–MZ853202 from Barnes and Daniels et al (2021).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Lack Of Reliable Morphological Taxonomic Features Amongmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refining species boundaries among velvet worms (Onychophora, Peripatopsidae), with the description of two new species of Opisthopatus from South Africa

Barnes

Daniels

2022

Invertebrate Biology

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Generalist species exhibit more genetic structure in comparison to a habitat specialist: Evidence from a phylogeographic study of two freshwater crabs (Decapoda: Potamonautidae: Potamonautes), implications for habitat conservation

Grobler,

Daniels

2024

Ecology and Evolution

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During the present study, the phylogeography of the wetland specialist, freshwater crab, Potamonautes flavusjo, was investigated and compared to that of the ubiquitous, generalist, P. sidneyi, using DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit one (COI). We inferred the evolutionary history of each species and compared their population‐level genetic structure by constructing haplotype networks and using an analysis of molecular variation. Additionally, we explored the evolutionary relationship between southern African lentic and lotic freshwater crab species by examining the usefulness of carapace attributes in relation to genetic indices and a species' assumed dispersal capacity. In the lentic species, P. flavusjo, a single interconnected haplocluster characterized by shared haplotypes was observed, suggesting marked maternal dispersal, a result corroborated by the low FST values. In contrast, for the lotic species, P. sidneyi two distinct haploclusters and marked genetic differentiation was observed indicating the absence of maternal dispersal, a result corroborated by the high FST values. The phylogenetic relationship in P. sidneyi was further investigated using a maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses with the addition of sequence data from the mitochondrial 16S rRNA locus to estimate divergence times. Three species delimitation methods (ASAP, PTP, and bGMYC) were used to explore the presence of distinct lineages in P. sidneyi. The phylogenetic results indicated that within P. sidneyi two clades were present, while divergence time estimates suggest cladogenesis during the middle to late Pleistocene. The species delimitation methods used showed moderate congruence, however all oversplit the number of putative lineages. Our results indicated that P. sidneyi is a species complex comprised of two cryptic lineages, occurring in sympatry contemporarily possibly alluding to secondary contact. Carapace height was found to have no discernible influence on the genetic indices and presumed dispersal capabilities of mainland southern African freshwater crab species. The importance of our results are discussed in terms of conservation of freshwater habitats.

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iNaturalist is useful at enhancing biodiversity studies as evident from southern African freshwater crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamonautidae)

Daniels

Barnes

Peer

et al. 2022

Journal of Crustacean Biology

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The value of the citizen science platform iNaturalist was explored using photographic observations of southern African freshwater crabs (Potamonautidae Bott, 1970, among two genera Potamonautes sensu stricto MacLeay, 1838 and MartimonautesCumberlidge & Daniels, 2022) in combination with specimen data deposited in the South African Museum (Iziko Museums of Cape Town, South Africa). Species identification of photographic observations were assessed, and the identification of taxa corrected where necessary. From these records, the habitat type and distribution of the species were noted. The area of occupancy (AOO) and the extent of occurrence (EOO) were calculated where range extensions for species were observed. The results demonstrate that riverine/mountain stream freshwater crabs are over-represented in their frequency but species occurring in swamps/forests were under-represented. Using iNaturalist spatial data for South Africa we can identify several unsampled gaps in the country which included the Free State and North West, Gauteng and the Northern Cape, followed by Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and the Eastern Cape provinces. The Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of freshwater crab records on iNaturalist. The remaining southern African countries, Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, have few iNaturalist records. Range extensions were observed in four South African species based on iNaturalist records (P. clarusGouws, Stewart & Coke, 2000, P. flavusjoDaniels, Phiri, & Bayliss, 2014, P. isimangaliso Peer & Gouws, 2015, and P. mariepskoppieDaniels, Barnes, Marais & Gouws, 2021) with increases in AOO and EOO. We also observed a new undescribed freshwater crab on iNaturalist and corroborated this observation by sequencing these specimens for the cytochrome oxidase one subunit (COI) locus. Photographic quality is critical for taxonomic inference. Citizen science platforms such as iNaturalist can be invaluable for the discovery and documentation of biodiversity and provide new spatial data for species distributions that in turn can aid conservation tools.

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Surveys of Afrotemperate forests yields two new freshwater crabs (Decapoda: Potamonautidae: Potamonautes MacLeay, 1838) from South Africa

Cited by 664 publications

References 38 publications

Refining species boundaries among velvet worms (Onychophora, Peripatopsidae), with the description of two new species of Opisthopatus from South Africa

Refining species boundaries among velvet worms (Onychophora, Peripatopsidae), with the description of two new species of Opisthopatus from South Africa

Generalist species exhibit more genetic structure in comparison to a habitat specialist: Evidence from a phylogeographic study of two freshwater crabs (Decapoda: Potamonautidae: Potamonautes), implications for habitat conservation

iNaturalist is useful at enhancing biodiversity studies as evident from southern African freshwater crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamonautidae)

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