Arquatopotamon jizushanense

الوصف:

Description: English: This freshwater crab, Arquatopotamon jizushanense, from Jizushan village of Dali province in eastern Yunnan was described recently (July 2017) by Kelin Chu, Lijun Zhou and Hongying Sun. At the type locality I only found one single specimen in an irrigation ditch next to a swampy river, but I didn't search the river itself. Freshwater crabs are one of least researched arthropod taxa and there are still plenty of undescribed species waiting to be discovered. In China, the situation of freshwater crabs is alarming since they usually have a restricted distribution and are thus endemic to a specific small area and often dependent on unpolluted streams and rivers. The distribution and population status of the almost 300 known species of Chinese freshwater crabs is poorly understood and there is an urgent need to assess this information. Habitat destruction, straightening of rivers, artificial fertilizer and pesticides are major threats to freshwater crabs. To engange in conservation efforts, we need to understand ecology, distribution and population dynamics of known species, so there is plenty of work to do in the future. Date: 8 September 2017. Source: Arquatopotamon jizushanense. Author: nature.catcher.