Following field research at Kenting National Park last year, a team led by land crab specialist Liu Hung-chang (劉烘昌) said it had discovered a new genus and species of crab known as Lithoselatium pulchrum.
The conservation division at Kenting National Park Headquarters said Liu found the new species at the coral shores of Banana Bay (香蕉灣) in Pingtung County while documenting the discovery of 39 families of land crab at the national park.
Lithoselatium pulchrum has the shape of a trapezoid. The pincers are pink, the back shell and four pair of legs are purple, and the hard shell is covered with white dots. It inhabits cracks at the bottom of coral reefs, which it uses to hide if it senses movement.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
Personnel at the conservation division said that the most interesting aspect of the newly discovered species was its unique method of reproduction.
Although the crab’s spawning season is similar to that of other crabs, lasting from July to October, the female Lithoselatium pulchrum lays fewer — but larger — eggs and the larvae are in a later developmental stage when they are hatched.
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