Abstract
The study of Colombian freshwater crabs has advanced significantly, but species records are scattered across different museums and research institutions. Assuming that museum collections incorporate valuable information in estimating species diversity, a database was organized on the 94 known species of family Pseudothelphusidae, which includes 568 records from 1853 to 2019 in continental Colombia and Gorgona Island. The natural regions of Colombia (Amazonian, Andean, Caribbean, Orinoquian, Pacific) were further subdivided into 75 natural sub-regions according to habitat types used by freshwater crabs. Sub-regions were (i) ranked in terms of species richness, with respective species reported in each sub-region listed accordingly, and (ii) classified into a scale of five categories on the basis of a geometric biodiversity index combining species richness and Simpson index. Species accumulation curves are presented to estimate the current status of knowledge about the diversity of the Colombian pseudothelphusids. Although the available data are not standardized for an adequate assessment of relative abundance, since they are influenced by sampling efforts and natural sub-regions are of different sizes and characteristics, the present study may be useful in future ecological and biogeographic research, as well as for conservation purposes.
Highlights
Colombia is considered the most species-rich country for freshwater crabs (109 species) in South America and the second worldwide after China (243 species) (Cumberlidge et al, 2011)
Among the SR-3 subregions we found a high degree of endemism, namely: (i) Chaceus cesarensis (2), Ch. curumanensis (3) and Chaceus ibiricensis (5) are endemic to (2, CaribeCes). (ii) Strengeriana casallasi (78) and Strengeriana villaensis (90) are restricted to (28, CceAzu). (iii) Neostrengeria sketi (64) and Phallangothelphusa tangerina (94) are endemic to (45, CorOpon). (iv) Lindacatalina sinuensis (37), Moritschus narinnensis (42) and Strengeriana antioquensis (75) are endemic only to (3, CaribeSi), (12, CbioTel) and (18, CceMed), respectively. (v) The sub-regions (47, CorSua), (45, CorOpon), (18, CceMed) have in common H. bouvieri bouvieri (16), whereas (28, CceAzu) and (26, CceCoe) share the species Strengeriana cajaensis (77)
In this study concerning the species of the family Pseudothelphusidae in Colombia, we began by asking about the possibility of obtaining useful information from the natural history collections existing in museums and research institutions
Summary
Colombia is considered the most species-rich country for freshwater crabs (109 species) in South America and the second worldwide after China (243 species) (Cumberlidge et al, 2011). (2) The Andean region is made up of three major divisions formed by chains of high mountains (cordilleras), which are known as the Western, Central and Eastern cordilleras This region covers approximately one third of the national territory, has a wide variety of altitude dependent climates, and is crossed by important rivers such as the Magdalena and Cauca, which run parallel to the mountains and flow into the Caribbean Sea. (5) The Amazonian region in southern Colombia is mainly covered by tropical forests It borders the Eastern cordillera along the western edge, in the north it includes the Guaviare and Vichada rivers and to the south it extends to the Putumayo and Amazon rivers. The weather is warm and very humid due to frequent rains
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