Four New Crab Species Discovered in Kerala

Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short extending “tail” . Usually totally hidden under the thorax. They live in all the world՚s oceans, in fresh water, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton and have a single pair of claws.

About the discovery: Scientists have discovered four new crab species namely:

  • Paguristes luculentus
  • Diogenes canaliculatus
  • Pagurus spinossior

Afropinnotheres ratnakara in Kerala.

They were discovered by cooperative research project of A. Biju Kumar, R. Reshmi and Tomoyuki Komai (Japan) .

These findings have been published in the international journal of taxonomy named Zootaxa.

Discovery of these four new crab species from the Kerala coast highpoints the diversity of the crustacean in the state.

  • Paguristes luculentus: It is a hermit crab species belonging to the family Diogenidae was collected off the coast of Kollam. It represents the 9th of the genus known from Indian waters. The species name luculentus refers to its livid living color.
  • Diogenes canaliculatus: It is a hermit crab species belonging to the family Diogenidae has light brown or tan color. It has been named after the longitudinal furrows on the outer surface of its arm on left chelate leg. The family Diogenidae of crabs are left handed hermits as their left claw is larger.
  • Pagurus spinossior: It is hermit crab belonging to Paguridae family which are right handed crabs. It is tan in color and was collected from Neendakara, Kollam. Its name spinossior refers to species strong armature on the clawed legs.
  • Afropinnotheres ratnakara: It is a new species of pinnotherid crab genus. The genus was stated for the first time from the Indian Ocean. It was found inside the Perna at Kovalam. The species names ratnakara in Sanskrit means Indian Ocean.

Examrace Team at Aug 20, 2021