National Parks of Taiwan

Lithoselatium pulchrum, a new genus and new species of crab, was recorded in Kenting National Park during a 2010 survey.

Lithoselatium pulchrum was discovered in 1998 by Dr. Liu Hong-chang on the coral rock shore of Hengchun Peninsula and was announced as a new genus and new species in 2009. It has a slightly ladder shaped back, purple back and four legs, white spots cover its shell and its claws are pink. It lives in holes in the bottom of coral rock near the high tide line. It is shy and stays mainly near its hole, rushing back in at the first hint of movement. The species reproduces in an unusual way. It carries eggs between July and October and the female lays a relatively small number of eggs around 1 mm in diameter that are large and full of yolk. When the eggs hatch the young have late developmental phase characteristics which is known as abbreviated development, that is, the number of young and the number of times the shell is shed are reduced, lowering the risk of death before the crabs mature. Researchers believe that study of this crab can produce a substantial amount of useful information that will help increase understanding of evolutionary adaptation.

Translated by：Kevin Lax
Source：Kenting National Park Headquarters