Published: 8th Sep, 2022
Context
A distinctively coloured crab species has been discovered in the Western Ghats by a forest guard and a group of researchers.
About the new species
- The crab has been named Ghatiana dvivarnaspnov.
- The freshwater species was first spotted in Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka.
- The crab’s name is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘dvivarna’, which means bicolour, as the crustacean has a white body and claws and “red-violet” legs.
- The species was first sighted in June, 2021 in Anshi wildlife range, Kali Tiger Reserve in Karnataka.
- These crabs usually inhabit the holes in laterite rocks on the elevated mountains of central Western Ghats (south of Goa-Nilgiris) region.
- They feed on mosses growing on laterite rocks and play a key role in ensuring ecological balance.
- In India, there are about 125 species of crabs and 13 have been recorded so far under Ghatiana genus.
- Ghatianadvivarna is the 14th freshwater crab to have been discovered.
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