THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It goes by the musical-sounding name of Ranina ranina. Popularly - in places where it is commonly found, that is - it’s simply called the ‘frog crab’ or the ‘spanner crab.’ The red-carapaced crab is extremely rare in Indian waters. In fact, the first sighting on the western coast was made the other day by local fishermen and the Vizhinjam research centre of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). Sadly, scientists at the facility did not succeed in preserving a live specimen.
‘’Local fishermen found it and brought it to us. It was already in an extremely weak condition. We’ve now preserved it in formalin solution,’’ M K Anil, head of the centre, said. According to him, this is the first time a spanner crab - so called because of claws shaped like the tool - is being spotted on the western coast.
“There were reports that the crab had been sighted on the East coast of the country back in 2012. Common in tropical and sub-tropical waters, the crab can grow up to six inches in length and is commonly found in the coastal waters of Australia, eastern Africa, Vietnam and Indonesia. It is a commercially exploited crab species.” Scientists here believe the ocean currents must have carried the crab to Indian waters. The red carapace also gives it the name ‘red frog crab.’ The CMFRI unit at Vizhinjam has now collected DNA samples which will be sent to CMFRI, Kochi, for a formal identification and recording.