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

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 8288
• Main Authors: Rezaei Tavabe, Kamran, Tavana, Mina, Mirvaghefi, Ali Reza, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash, Rahimi, Paniz, Doadrio, Ignacio, Ghanavi, Hamid Reza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 18.05.2022; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Animals; Aquatic ecosystems; Biodiversity; Biologi; Biological Sciences; Biological Systematics; Biologisk systematik; Brachyura/genetics; Contamination; Crustaceans; Decapoda; Ecology; Ecosystem; Ekologi; Environmental degradation; Fresh Water; Freshwater ecosystems; Habitat loss; Habitats; Humans; Iran; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Phylogenetics; Potamon; Species; Taxonomy; Water; Water pollution; Iran
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12335-w

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. Here, we barcoded the different populations occurring in the country and delimited the species to allow for a better understanding of their distribution and taxonomy. In this study, we evaluated the taxonomical statues of Potamon species in Iran using genetic data. In addition, we created the first barcoding reference for Iranian freshwater crabs, which is an important resource for future environmental and conservation studies.