Ghatiana atropurpurea

Last updated

Ghatiana atropurpurea
Purple Tree Crab imported from iNaturalist photo 80255551 on 1 January 2023.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Gecarcinucidae
Genus: Ghatiana
Species:
G. atropurpurea
Binomial name
Ghatiana atropurpurea
Pati, Thackeray & Khaire, 2016

Ghatiana atropurpurea is a species of arboreal crab from India that was first identified in 2016. [1] Unlike other species of its genus, Ghatiana , it is not endemic to the Western Ghats. [2]

Contents

Description

G. atropurpurea has a deep purple carapace (resembling the color of the fruit Indian blackberry) and indigo or deep purple ambulatory legs. Chelipeds are light indigo. Surface of remaining portions such as the claw are light pink. [1]

Distribution

The species was first recorded from two localities Amboli (type locality) in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, and Hathipal in South Goa district of Goa, which is approximately 110 km south of Amboli. There was also one sighting of the species from Amba Ghat in Kolhapur district, which is about 115 km north of Amboli. [1] Later it was spotted in 2017 at the Sharavati valley in Shimoga. It was later found in Karwar in Uttara Kannada district in 2021. [3]

Behaviour and ecology

G. atropurpurea is partially arboreal, found in association mainly with the Indian blackberry plant. Some crabs were observed in tree holes containing rain water; however, none of them were observed foraging on open ground leaf litters or barks. Adult and sub-adult crabs of the Hathipal area were found in tree holes near the ground level whereas many juveniles gathered under small boulders or foraging on leaf litters. An adult female crab was also seen in a burrow under the crown of a large boulder. One freshly recruit crab was also noticed adjacent to an ephemeral stream, which had left its trail. True phytotelmy is therefore not achieved by G. atropurpurea. Individuals of this species were mainly seen during the heavy or frequent rainfall with or without fog and all day long. The feeding habits of G. atropurpurea are not precisely known. Local people of the Hathipal area mentioned about feeding on roadkills of snails and millipedes. During a night field visit, an adult crab was found in a small pond filled with tadpoles, which could also be a possible source of prey. Population size of this species appeared to be higher at Hathipal than at Amboli. [1]

Etymology

The specific epithet atropurpurea is derived from the Latin atropurpureus meaning 'dark purple', referring to the deep purple carapace of the crab resembling the Indian blackberry. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Gecarcinus quadratus</i> Species of crab

Gecarcinus quadratus, known as the red land crab, whitespot crab, Halloween crab, moon crab, Halloween moon crab, mouthless crab, or harlequin land crab, is a colourful land crab from the family Gecarcinidae.

<i>Leptograpsus</i> Genus of crabs

Leptograpsus variegatus, known as the purple rock crab, is a marine large-eyed crab of the family Grapsidae, found in southern subtropical Indo-Pacific Oceans. It grows to around 50 millimetres (2.0 in) shell width. It is the only species in the genus Leptograpsus.

Hexapus is a genus of crabs in the family Hexapodidae. It contains only three extant species found in the Indo-West Pacific. They inhabit the intertidal and subtidal areas of shorelines.

<i>Heloecius</i> Genus of crabs

Heloecius cordiformis is a species of semiterrestrial crab found in mangrove swamps and mudflats along the east coast of Australia. Adults are around 25 mm (1 in) wide, with males being larger and having larger and more conspicuously coloured claws. The males wave their claws to communicate with other crabs, giving them their common name of semaphore crab. They can breathe both in air and under water, and feed at low tide on detritus in the sediment. H. cordiformis is the only species in the genus Heloecius and the family Heloeciidae.

<i>Seychellum</i> Genus of crabs

Seychellum alluaudi is a species of freshwater crab endemic to the Seychelles, and the only true freshwater crab in that country. It lives in rainforest streams on the archipelago's granitic high islands. Although it may be abundant, little is known about its biology. If its habitat were to decline in quality, S. alluaudi might become endangered, but it is currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

<i>Cancrocaeca</i> Genus of crabs

Cancrocaeca xenomorpha is a species of troglobitic (cave-dwelling) freshwater crab from Sulawesi, the only species in the monotypic genus Cancrocaeca. It has been described as the world's "most highly cave-adapted species of crab".

<i>Parasesarma leptosoma</i> Species of crab

Parasesarma leptosoma, also known as the arboreal crab, is an arboreal, leaf-eating mangrove crab, from East and South Africa where it is found on Rhizophora mucronata and Bruguiera gymnorhiza, but not on Avicennia marina. It occupies an ecological niche similar to that of another sesarmid, Aratus pisonii, from the Americas.

<i>Geosesarma dennerle</i> Species of crab

Geosesarma dennerle is a species of small land-living crabs found on Java, Indonesia.

<i>Kani maranjandu</i> Species of crab

Kani maranjandu is a species of tree crab first identified in 2017. K. maranjandu has, to date, only been observed in the forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, India. As of 2021, it is the only species in the genus Kani.

<i>Nanhaipotamon</i> Genus of crabs

Nanhaipotamon is a genus of freshwater crabs, in the subfamily Potamiscinae, found in southern China and Taiwan. As of 2018, 18 species have been described. The genus is named after the South China Sea, for it occurs mostly in coastal areas. The genus was first described by R. Bott in 1968 as Isolapotamon (Nanhaipotamon), i.e., a subgenus of Isolapotamon.

Parveen F. Absar is a wildlife biologist from India. In 2017, she was credited with the discovery of a species of freshwater crab called Teretamon absarum, of the genus Teretamon and species speleaum.

<i>Ghatiana</i> Genus of crabs

Ghatiana is a genus of freshwater crabs, found among the Western Ghats in India.

<i>Limnopilos naiyanetri</i> Species of crab

Limnopilos naiyanetri, commonly referred to as the Thai micro crab or pill-box crab, is a freshwater hymenosomatid crab endemic to Thailand. Its presence has only been confirmed in the Tha Chin River. The species was described in 1991 and represents the type species of Limnopilos. The Thai micro crab was first introduced to the aquarium hobby in 2008 when it was imported to Germany by the tropical fish importer Aquarium Glaser GmbH, and has slowly grown in popularity with aquarium hobbyists. It remains a relatively rare species on the market and detailed information on the husbandry of this species is scarce.

Gubernatoriana triangulus is a species of freshwater crab in the family Gecarcinucidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats in India.

Ghatiana pulchra is a species of freshwater crab from the northern Western Ghats in India that was first identified in 2018.

<i>Ghatiana dvivarna</i> Species of crab

Ghatiana dvivarna is a species of freshwater crab from the Central Western Ghats in India that was first identified in 2022.

<i>Tubuca coarctata</i> Species of fiddler crab

Tubuca coarctata is a species of fiddler crab found in the western Pacific ocean, including Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia. The common name of these crabs is either the compressed fiddler crab, or the orange-clawed fiddler crab,. They are found on tidal mud flats adjacent mangroves and muddy tidal creek and river banks.

<i>Tubuca dussumieri</i> Species of crab

Tubuca dussumieri, is a species of fiddler crab that is found in the western and south pacific including New Caledonia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, north eastern Australia

<i>Ghatiana splendida</i> Species of crab

Ghatiana splendida is a species of crab from India, first identified in 2016 in the Western Ghats. Tejas Thackeray, among the discovers of the species, has said that "locals" to where it was first described were aware of the species and would refer to it as the "purple tree crab" or the "pink forest crab". Thackeray first encountered the crab while searching for the olive forest snake.

<i>Barytelphusa cunicularis</i>

Barytelphusa cunicularis is a common species of freshwater crab found almost all over India, excluding Northeast India.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Pati, S.K.; Thackeray, T.; Khaire, A. (23 February 2016). "Five new species of freshwater crabs of the genera Ghatiana Pati & Sharma, 2014, and Gubernatoriana Bott, 1970 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae Rathbun, 1904) from the Western Ghats, India". Zootaxa. 4083 (4): 569–586. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4083.4.7. PMID   27394247.
  2. Pati, Sameer K.; Thackeray, Tejas (10 December 2021). "Five new species of freshwater crabs of the genera Ghatiana Pati & Sharma, 2014 and Sahyadriana Pati & Thackeray, 2018 from India (Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae)". Zoosystema. 43. doi:10.5252/zoosystema2021v43a26. S2CID   239770111.
  3. Sanjiv, Deepthi (22 September 2021). "Rare purple crab spotted in Karnataka". Mangaluru News. The Times of India.