Vela carli

Vela carli Latest News

Recently, researchers discovered from the forests of the Silent Valley National Park that a crab belongs to the species Vela carli and is both male and female at the same time.

About Vela carli

• Vela carli is an endemic freshwater crab found only in the forests and streams of the Central Western Ghats.
• It belongs to the family Gecarcinucidae.
• It is for the first instance it showed gynandromorphy (a rare condition in which individuals exhibit both male and female characteristics)
• The bodies of the crabs displayed male reproductive structures, while other parts showcased female features, including gonopores
• It is rare in crustaceans and has never before been reported in the freshwater crab family Gecarcinucidae.

Key Facts about Silent Valley National Park

• Location: It is located in the State of Kerala.
• It constitutes the centerpiece of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, sanctified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012.
• River: It is nourished by the Kunthipuzha River.
• Vegetation: It has four types of vegetation “West Coast tropical evergreen forest, southern sub-tropical broad-leaved hill forest, montane wet temperature forest, and grasslands.
• Flora: The flora of the valley includes about 1000 species of flowering plants, 107 species of orchids, 100 ferns and fern allies, 200 liverworts, 75 lichens, and about 200 algae.
• Fauna:  It is famous for its population of lion-tailed macaques, Nilgiri langur, Malabar giant squirrel, Indian elephant, tiger, leopard, and gaur (Indian bison).

Source: TH

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