4-Apr-2017: Kani maranjadu; a new tree-dwelling crab species found in Kerala.
Scientists have discovered a new species of long legged, tree-dwelling crabs in Western Ghats of Kerala.
The new species Kani maranjadu is named after the Kani tribe in Kerala. It is substantially different from other congeners.
The characteristic traits of the crab include the structure of its hard upper shell, its male abdominal structure and reproductive parts and diagnostic elongated walking legs, which no other genus has.
This is the first report of its kind to offer a record of an arboreal crab — a species that lives in trees.
The survey of the freshwater crab fauna started in 2014 in the Westerns Ghats in Kerala. People from the Kani tribe reported sightings of a ‘long legged’ tree crabs in the area.
As water holding hollows in large trees are essential for the survival of this unique species, the discovery also stress the need for conservation of large trees in the degraded forest ecosystems of the Western Ghats.
11-Jan-2017: New species of gibbon discovered in China
Scientists have discovered a new species of gibbon living in the Gaoligongshan nature reserve of south-west China’s rainforests. It has been named the "Skywalker hoolock gibbon" by its discoverers, who are Star Wars fans. The name is also a nod to the fact that the Chinese characters of its scientific name, Hoolock tianxing, mean “Heaven’s movement”.
Gibbons are renowned for their loud song, which they use to mark territory, and this also sounded unusual. A full genetic and physical comparison with other gibbons has confirmed that they had found a new species.
The scientists estimate that about 200 Skywalker gibbons are living in China and also potentially in neighbouring Myanmar, but say that the species should already be classified as endangered. Habitat loss and fragmentation is putting the gibbons at risk of extinction.