Potamonautes platycentron
Encyclopedia
Potamonautes platycentron is a species of freshwater crab
in the family Potamonautidae
, which is endemic to Lake Chala
in Kenya
and Tanzania
. It was originally described by Franz Martin Hilgendorf
in 1897, as Telphusa platycentron.
Freshwater crab
There are around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs, distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine crabs which release thousands of planktonic larvae. This limits...
in the family Potamonautidae
Potamonautidae
Potamonautidae is a family of freshwater crabs endemic to tropical parts of Africa and adjacent islands, including Madagascar, the Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mafia, Pemba, Bioko, São Tomé, Príncipe and Sherbro Island. It comprises 18 extant genera and 138 extant species...
, which is endemic to Lake Chala
Lake Chala
Lake Chala is a crater lake in a caldera on the borders of Tanzania and Kenya on the eastern edge of Mount Kilimanjaro, not far from the town of Moshi and 8 km north of Taveta. Depending on the time of year, it ranges in colour from deep blue to turquoise and green, it is surrounded by a 100...
in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. It was originally described by Franz Martin Hilgendorf
Franz Martin Hilgendorf
Franz Martin Hilgendorf was a German zoologist and paleontologist. Hilgendorf's research on fossil snails from the Steinheim crater in the early 1860s became a palaeontological evidence for the theory of evolution published by Charles Darwin in 1859.-Life and work:Franz Hilgendorf was born...
in 1897, as Telphusa platycentron.