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Somanniathelphusa zanklon

Scientific Name: Somanniathelphusa zanklon1)

Endemic?: Yes (Year of Discovery: 1992, Discoverer: Ng & Dudgeon)2)

IUCN Red List Status: Endangered3)

Range: Lower course of Lam Tsuen River and Su Kwun, New Territories4)

Map of Species Range 5)

Physical Description

Photos 6)

Sketches 7)

Habitat

This species occurs in a variety of lotic and lentic lowland habitat8). It is fairly tolerant of organic pollution, but it prefers unpolluted riverine habitats and slow-flowing low-gradient streams where the substratum might be muddy9). It also inhabits irrigation ditches and flooded furrows10). This species has been found among the roots of floating plants, such as the exotic water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes or the trailing roots and stems of riparian grasses and other plants11).

Threats

The IUCN lists this species as Endangered because its range is less than 5,000 km², with all individuals in fewer than five locations12). It is considered to be threatened by the use of pesticides in rice fields which are likely to be causing a decline in habitat quality13).

Contributing authors:

  • laurel
1), 2), 3), 4), 8), 9), 10), 11), 12), 13) Somanniathelphusa zanklon, IUCN Red List
5) Species Range, IUCN Red List
6) Ng, Peter K.L., and David Dudgeon. "The Potamidae and Parathelphusidae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) of Hong Kong." Invertebrate Taxonomy 6 (1992): 741-68.
7) Dudgeon, David. Tropical Asian Streams: Zoobenthos, Ecology and Conservation. Hong Kong: Hong Kong UP, 1999.
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