DISTRIBUTION of FRESHWATER CRAB (Potamon sp.) in TURKISH THRACE

Abstract

Potamon fluviatile (Herbst, 1785) is one of four freshwater crab species (all Potamon species) found in the Balkan Peninsula. Another species, P. ibericum, was found in both Marica River in Bulgaria and in Meriç River in Turkey. During intensive research between the years 1999-2008, eighteen streams and four lakes were checked for the presence of freshwater crab in the Turkish Thrace. Freshwater crabs were present at almost half of sites investigated. This paper shows the current distributions of Potamon species in Turkish Thrace. We present three new sites for Potamon fluviatile (Herbst, 1785) in four streams (the Yenice brook, Velika brook, Demirköy brook, Bulanık brook) and two lakes (Hamam lake, Üsküp Dam lake). This research also confirmed that Potamon ibericum (Bieberstein, 1809) was still present in Meriç River and Gala Lake.

Keywords

• Fresh water crab, Potamon sp., Distribution, Thrace, Turkey

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