Rare Purple Crab Species Identified in Threatened Palawan Biodiversity

A rare species of purple crabs called the Insulamon palawanense is among four new crab species recently discovered in a research programme on the island of Palawan. Scientists at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Dresden and De La Salle University in Manila have discovered the specie during their Aqua Palawana research programme. The unique biodiversity in which the species were found is under threat. The new crab species found are endemic to only a few islands and are unable to spread elsewhere. Around 50 per cent of the species living on Palawan are defined as endemic, as they are exclusively native to the island.

A particularly colourful new species: Insulamon palawanense.

The recently discovered Insulamon johannchristiani species also exists only on Palawan.

Insulamon magnum – one of the freshwater crabs recently discovered on Palawan.