Tiny New Species of Tree Climbing Crab Discovered in Hong Kong
Posted on May 5, 2017
Scientists have discovered a new species of tree-climbing crab in Hong Kong. The crab, named Haberma tingkok, is described in research led by Dr Stefano Cannicci at the Swire Institute of Marine Sciences (SWIMS) and School of Biological Sciences, the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
The crab is a species of micro-mangrove crab. The tiny crab is less than a centimeter long. It is squarish and has a dark brown carapace, long legs and orange chelipeds. The elongated legs help the crab climb up mangrove trees. The crabs were found at heights of 1.5 meters to 1.8 meters walking on the bark of the branches of the mangrove trees.
The research estimate that only 50-60% off the real diversity of coastal and littoral crabs in Hong Kong are known. A research paper on the crab can be found in ZooKeys.