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Scientists described a new species of porcelain crab, Pachycheles ravichandrani, from the shallow coral reefs of Agatti Island in India's Lakshadweep archipelago, with the finding reported around 20 July 2026.
Described by researchers Balamurugan Sureandiran, Divya Prema Radhakrishnan, Sendhil Kumar and T.T. Ajith Kumar in the journal Zootaxa, the species was found among rock boulders under coralline algae at depths of under 1 metre.
The tiny, dark carmine-red crustacean has a distinctive white blotch on its back, white-spotted claws, and striped walking legs — porcelain crabs are more closely related to squat lobsters than true crabs.
Despite resembling true crabs, porcelain crabs (family Porcellanidae) are more closely related to squat lobsters. They have fragile, porcelain-like bodies and can readily shed limbs (autotomy) to escape predators.
Simple Analogy: Like a lizard dropping its tail to escape a predator, a porcelain crab will 'drop' a claw or leg, regenerating it later — a defence trait it shares with its squat-lobster relatives rather than true crabs.
GS Paper III - Environment (Marine biodiversity, new species)
The porcelain crab family, taxonomically closer to squat lobsters than true crabs