Pseudohelice annamalai
| Pseudohelice annamalai | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Superfamily: | Grapsoidea |
| Family: | Varunidae |
| Subfamily: | Cyclograpsinae |
| Genus: | Pseudohelice K. Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006 |
| Species: | P. annamalai
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudohelice annamalai Prema et al., 2022
| |
Pseudohelice annamalai is a species of crab in the family Varunidae, which is reported from the Indian Ocean at the mangroves of Parangipettai near the Vellar River estuary in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu.[1]
Biology
[edit]Pseudohelice annamalai is distinguished from other species of the genus by having a dark purple to dark grey colour, with irregular light brown, yellowish brown, or white patches on the posterior carapace. Chelipeds are light brown in colour. It grows a maximum width of up to 20 mm. The species inhabits muddy banks of mangroves. Their burrows are located near the pneumatophores of Avicennia mangroves. The depth of the burrows are about 25 to 30 cm. They are branched, with larger pellets kept around the entrance. Unlike other intertidal crabs, this crab is not aggressive.[2][3]
References
[edit]- ^ Prema M, Hsu JW, Shih HT, Ravichandran S. 2022. First record of the genus Pseudohelice Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006 from India and description of a new pseudocryptic species (Crustacea: Brachyura: Varunidae). Zool Stud 61:56. doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-56
- ^ Prasad, S. (November 8, 2022). "New species of estuarine crab discovered in Cuddalore named after Annamalai University". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Pseudohelice annamalai Prema, Hsu, Shih & Ravichandran, 2022". marinespecies.org.