Hydrothelphusa vencesi Cumberlidge, Marijnissen & J. Thompson 2007

Synonyms: none Taxonomic Notes: This species belongs to the Afrotropical family Potamonautidae (Deckeniinae: Hydrothelphusini) (see Cumberlidge, Sternberg, and Daniels, 2008). Diagnostic description: Terminal article of gonopod 1 a long straight-sided cone (ratio of length of terminal article to subterminal segment 0.3), bent outward at 45° to longitudinal axis of gonopod, evenly-tapering to pointed tip; broad, diamond-shaped dorsal membrane at segment junction. In life, the carapace is purple-brown, lacking stains or spots, tips of chelipeds and pereiopods are a lighter shade of brown, and there are beige granules on suborbital and pterygostomial regions of the carapace sidewall. The largest known specimen is the adult male holotype, carapace width 52 mm (see Cumberlidge, Marijnissen, and Thompson, 2007). Distribution: Endemic to Madagascar. Hydrothelphusa vencesi is known from three localities in southeastern Madagascar, two of them in the Mananara River drainage basin. The type locality is in the Vevembe Forest near the village of Vevembe in the region of Vondrozo in Fianarantsoa Province. This species is also found in the Sahavatov River which is part of the drainage basin of the Manampatrana River (Andringita Camp II, 1,390 m asl), and in the Sahambano River at 570 m asl in the basin of the Mananara-sud River (Cumberlidge, Marijnissen, and Thompson, 2007) Habitat: Rivers in forested regions. Conservation status: This species is known only from three locations but these are quite far apart suggesting that this species may be more widely distributed. It is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List assessment (Cumberlidge et al., 2009).