The Drakensberg is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – 2,000 to 3,482 metres within the border region of South Africa and Lesotho.
The Highveld is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of the country's most important commercial farming areas, as well as its largest concentration of metropolitan centres, especially the Gauteng conurbation, which accommodates one-third of South Africa's population.
The marsh mongoose is a medium-sized mongoose native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it inhabits foremost freshwater wetlands. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008.
The rough-haired golden mole is a species of mammal that live mostly below ground. They have shiny coats of dense fur and a streamlined, formless appearance. They have no visible eyes or ears; in fact, they are blind - the small eyes are covered with hairy skin. The ears are small and are hidden in the animal's fur.[10]
Potamonautes is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent. They are found in most freshwater habitats of the African mainland and some species are semi-terrestrial.
Potamonautes berardi is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in the Nile Basin in Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Its natural habitats are rivers and streams.
Potamonautes johnstoni is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in rivers in Kenya and Tanzania, with unconfirmed records from Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The species' distribution includes Kilimanjaro, Nekona, Mrogoro and the Usambara Mountains.
Potamonautes lirrangensis, the Malawi blue crab, is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. This common and widespread species is found in Lake Malawi, Lake Kivu, the upper Congo River Basin and Malagarasi River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. In the freshwater aquarium trade it is sometimes sold under the synonym Potamonautes orbitospinus.
Potamonautes mutandensis is an endangered species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in Lake Mutanda and Lake Kivu in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo.
Potamonautes niloticus is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. It is found in the Nile Basin in Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda. Numerous specimens of P. niloticus are known from Miocene deposits around Lake Albert.
Potamonautes raybouldi is a species of freshwater crab. It lives in water-filled tree holes in forests in the eastern Usambara Mountains of Tanzania and the Shimba Hills in Kenya. It is threatened by deforestation resulting from the expansion of the human population, and is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List. The species was described in 2004, and named after Professor John N. Raybould of the University of Bristol, who collected the first specimens of the species.
Potamonautidae is a family of freshwater crabs endemic to Africa, including the islands of Madagascar, the Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mafia, Pemba, Bioko, São Tomé, Príncipe and Sherbro Island. It comprises 18 extant genera and 138 extant species. Fossil remains dating from the Late Miocene period have been attributed to the family Potamonautidae.
False Bay Park, a Ramsar site wetland since 2015, is a nature reserve that protects the western shores of the freshwater bay, False Bay, and is situated near the coast of northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. False Bay is connected to Lake St. Lucia and both are included in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.. It covers 1,500 hectares and is located at 34° 4′ S, 18° 30′ E.
Ilanda Wilds is a nature reserve along Amanzimtoti River in the town of Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This small area of land contains various habitat types, ranging from steep rocky slopes to various riverine habitats, forest and small patches of grassland.
The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA) is a biodiversity hotspot, a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity, in Southern Africa. It is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the Indian Ocean. The area is named after Maputaland, Pondoland and Albany. It stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern side of Eswatini and into southern Mozambique and Mpumalanga. The Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism is contained in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.
Potamonautes perlatus, the Cape river crab, is a species of crab in the family Potamonautidae.
Around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs are distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine crabs, which release thousands of planktonic larvae. This limits the dispersal abilities of freshwater crabs, so they tend to be endemic to small areas. As a result, a large proportion are threatened with extinction.
