The evolutionary journey of freshwater crabs of the genus Potamon (Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamidae).

Aim: Freshwater ecosystems host a rich biodiversity, including freshwater crabs. The family Potamidae is a diverse group of freshwater crabs with a Palearctic and Oriental distribution. Specifically, the genus Potamon is found in the Middle East, Southern Europe, and Northern Africa.

Barcoding and species delimitation of Iranian freshwater crabs of the Potamidae family (Decapoda: Brachyura).

Freshwater ecosystems are under multiple threats in modern times such as water extraction for human consumption, industries and agricultural activities, water contamination and habitat destruction for example. At the same time the biodiversity of these ecosystems are often poorly studied, especially in arid countries such as Iran. In this work, we study one of the ecologically important members of Iranian freshwater fauna, freshwater crab species of the genus Potamon.