| Potamon algeriense | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Potamidae |
| Genus: | Potamon |
| Species: | P. algeriense |
| Binomial name | |
| Potamon algeriense Bott, 1967 |
|
| Synonyms [1] | |
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Potamon algeriense is a freshwater crab found in North Africa.
P. algeriense is a close relative of the European species Potamon fluviatile, of which it was formerly considered a subspecies.[2]
Potamon algeriense has a wide but patchy distribution across Tunisia (Jendouba, Béja, Kairouan and Gafsa Governorates), Algeria (Algiers, Médéa and Béjaïa Provinces) and Morocco (Kénitra and Fes Provinces).[1]
P. algeriense is the only member of the freshwater crab family Potamidae in mainland Africa, which is otherwise dominated by the family Potamonautidae. It is presumed to have arrived from Italy during the Messinian salinity crisis 5–7 million years ago.[3]