A new species of freshwater crab of the genus Microthelphusa (Decapoda, Pseudothelphusidae) from a tepui in the Serra do Aracá, State of Amazonas, Brazil

A new species of freshwater crab of the genus Microthelphusa Pretzmann, 1968, from Brazil, is described and illustrated in this chapter. Microthelphusa lipkei sp. nov. is distinguished from the other 13 species of the genus by characters of the male first gonopod such as an apical plate with equally long caudal and cephalic lamellae, and a broadly rounded distal border in mesial view. The new species was collected at an elevation of over 1000 m in the Serra do Araca, Amazonas State, Brazil, the southernmost tabletop mountain (tepui) of the chain of massifs in the Guiana Shield region. Most of the 13 species of pseudothelphusid crabs of the genus Microthelphusa Pretzmann, 1968, have very narrow distributions that are usually associated with highland areas. The genus is found in the northeastern Andes, along the Venezuelan coastal mountain range, and the island of Trinidad. Keywords:Brazil; genus Microthelphusa Pretzmann; Microthelphusa lipkei