About Pachycheles ravichandrani:
- It is a new species of porcelain crab.
- While they look like true crabs, porcelain crabs are actually more closely related to squat lobsters, known for their fragile bodies, like porcelain, and tendency to lose limbs easily to escape predators.
- Pachycheles ravichandrani was found living in the shallow coral reefs of the Lakshadweep Islands, India.
- The tiny crustacean, which sports a striking deep-red colour, was found during a survey of the rocky shores of Agatti Island.
- It was found hiding among rock boulders covered in coralline algae at depths of less than one meter.
- It has a unique sub-circular shell and specialised hair-like structures, called setae, along its ridges.
- It has a distinct gap between the fingers of its smaller claw and a unique truncate cutting edge that is not seen in similar species.
- In its natural habitat, the crab is visually distinct, featuring a dark carmine red shell decorated with a white blotch down its back and white spots on its claws.
- Its walking legs are patterned with horizontal carmine stripes.
