Integrative taxonomic analysis of the Pseudothelphusa americana de Saussure, 1857 species complex with the description of three new species (Decapoda, Pseudothelphusidae, Pseudothelphusinae)

The Neotropical freshwater crab, Pseudothelphusa americana de Saussure, 1857, has historically been an unstable taxon. New collections from the published range of P. americana indicate a great deal of morphological variation within this taxon, suggesting that it may be a species complex. In the present study we describe three new species within the P. americana complex based on a phylogenetic analysis, on a study of the morpho-geometric variation of the gonopod, and on a thorough morphological revision of somatic and sexual structures.

Three new species (P. chilapaensis sp. nov., P. hermosorum sp. nov., and P. queretana sp. nov.) are described, and P. americana sensu stricto is redescribed, a neotype designated and its revised geographic distribution mapped.