Photo: Phallangothelphusa tangerina or Tangerine Crab by Maribel Arias / Courtesy Humboldt Institute - Colombia.
New mandarin crab discovered
The finding of the Humboldt Institute is important for world science, because it allows its study and conservation in the natural ecosystem.
The Alexander Von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute found in Colombia, Santander, among the rocks and mud of the ravines of the Cascajales River, a new species of crustacean for world science.
It is the freshwater mandarin crab, scientifically known as Phallangothelphusa tangerina. It was discovered by the researcher Maribel Arias in the geographical area, with no history of its existence.
The description of her discovery was made by Martha Campos, from the National University of Colombia, and Carlos Lasso, a researcher at the Humboldt Institute.
According to the evidence captured by the team, the mandarin crab “has five pairs of legs and a shell made of chitin carbohydrate; It can shed its body and regenerate its limbs, which have evolved to modify and take the form of a claw that it uses to feed, defend itself, and attract females during courtship.”
To classify it as a new species, the researchers used “a stereoscope to observe the reproductive appendage (called a gonopod) of a male specimen, which is an extension embedded within the abdomen. This extension is specialized or differentiated and makes it easier to identify a species of crab”.
Their discovery is important for their study, conservation and care, also because crabs can indicate good water quality, and be a food source for mammals, large fish and waterfowl.
Article by:
Jackeline Gonzalez L.
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