Uddhav Thackeray's younger son discovers new species of crab, names it after family

The name of the influential Thackeray family has been not only etched in Indian politics, but also in the rich diversity of Indian wildlife. A new species of crab has been named after the family and discovered by none other than Uddhav Thackeray's younger son Tejas, reports a leading English daily.

The small yet feisty crabs were found by the 19-year-old wildlife enthusiast near Sawantwadi in Sindhudurg. This new found species of freshwater crabs with red-violet shell and saffronred pincer-like claws has been named 'Gubernatoriana thackerayi'. 

Tejas, a second-year arts students had travelled to Konkan with a team to search for a rare species of snake, but was landed with a pleasant find of this brightly coloured arthropod in Raghuvir Ghats. 

Since Tejas discovered the species, he earned the right to name the crab.

He had originally suggested the name  of crab as Gubernatoriana rubra for its bright red colour. But SK Pati from Zoological Survey of India, who verified the discovery changed, it to Gubernatoriana thackerayi. "He changed it to Gubernatoriana thackerayi in the final draft of the paper as he felt the discovery should have the finder's name," Tejas said.

Gubernatoriana thackerayi has been recognised with four others - Ghatiana atropurpurea, Ghatiana splendida, Gubernatoriana alcocki and Gubernatoriana waghi - as valid new species and was published in Zootaxa, a peer-reviewed international journal for animal taxonomists.