Erimetopus vandenbrandeni (Balss, 1936) n. comb., with notes on the taxonomy of the genus Erimetopus Rathbun, 1894 (Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae) from Central Africa

Abstract

The Central African freshwater crab genus Erimetopus (family Potamonautidae) is revived to accommodate two species, E. brazzae (A. Milne-Edwards, 1886) and E. vandenbrandeni (Balss, 1936) n. comb. The genus Erimetopus Rathbun, 1894, and the two species assigned to it here, are redescribed from type material, and lectotypes for each species are selected. Erimetopus spinosus Rathbun, 1894 is judged here to be a junior synonym of E. brazzae, and P. (E.) b. frontospinulosa is treated as a subspecies of E. brazzae. Illustrations and photographs of the type specimens of these taxa are provided, and new gonopod evidence based on E. vandenbrandeni is evaluated. The distributions of the species of Erimetopus are described and discussed, and keys to the genera of African freshwater crabs and to the species of Erimetopus are provided.