Bright pink mountain creature found lurking in crevice in India. It’s a new species
Monsoon rains poured down on the mountains of southern India. For a few brief moments, the rain let up and a bright pink creature emerged from its rocky crevice.
Nearby scientists spotted the colorful mountain creature — and discovered a new species.
Researchers ventured into the mountains of Karnataka last August to survey wildlife, according to a study published April 19 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. The area was part of a biodiversity hotspot known as the Western Ghats.
While visiting a mountain plateau, researchers found over a dozen pink crabs and several more brownish purple crabs, the study said. They captured 28 crabs and, taking a closer look, realized they’d discovered a new species: Ghatiana dvirupa, or the Mr. and Mrs. Ghat crab.
Mr. and Mrs. Ghat crabs have “smooth,” “trapezoidal” bodies that measure up to 0.8 inches in length and up to 1.2 inches in width, the study said. Their right hand claws are “conspicuously larger” than their left hand.
A photo shows the bright pink male crab of the new species. Its body is darker pink with lighter pink appendages.
Female crabs of the new species are a very different color and have “dark purplish brown” bodies, the study said. A photo shows a female Ghatiana dvirupa crab.
Researchers said they named the new species after the Sanskrit word “dvirupa,” meaning “having two forms,” because of its color variation. Its common name also refers to the color variation between male and female crabs.
Mr. and Mrs. Ghat crabs were found in an empty “high mountain” plateau, the study said. The crabs mostly hid in rocky “holes and crevices” or “underneath stones.” During monsoon season, a period from June to September, the animals were more active and “often seen during the daytime when rain halts momentarily.”
So far, the new species has only been found on the Kali Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, the study said. The reserve is a roughly 1,200-mile drive southwest of New Delhi.
The new species was identified by its body shape, proportions, eyes, coloring and other subtle physical features, the study said. Researchers did not provide a DNA analysis of the new species.
The research team included Sameer Pati, Parashuram Bajantri and Gopalkrishna Hegde.
This story was originally published April 22, 2024 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Bright pink mountain creature found lurking in crevice in India. It’s a new species."
