New species of estuarine crab “Pseudohelice annamalai”

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Researchers have discovered a new species of estuarine crab at the mangroves of Parangipettai near the Vellar River estuary in Cuddalore district.

Image Courtesy :TH

About Pseudo Helice annamalai”

• The species has been named Pseudohelice annamalai in recognition of Annamalai University’s 100 years of service in education and research. 
• This is the first ever record of this genus, Pseudo Helice, collected from high intertidal areas in front of the Centre of Advanced Studies (CAS) . 
  • So far, only two species — Pseudo Helice subquadrata and Pseudohelice latreilli — have been confirmed within this genus. 
• Description :  It is distinguished by dark purple to dark grey colouring, with irregular light brown, yellowish brown, or white patches on the posterior carapace with light brown chelipeds. 
  • The new species is small and has a maximum width of up to 20 mm.
  • This species is not aggressive and can move fast like other intertidal crabs. As many as 17 species of intertidal crabs have been recorded in the same region,
• Habitat : The species inhabits muddy banks of mangroves, and the burrows were located near the pneumatophores of  Avicennia mangroves. 
• Distribution : The species discovered is distributed around the Indian subcontinent and the eastern Indian Ocean
  • The occurrence of Pseudo Helice in India links the distribution gap between the western Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. 
  • The new species provides additional evidence of the geographic isolation of the eastern Indian Ocean for some marine organisms, the researchers said. 

Source:TH