Visiting Scientist Feature – Dr. S. Ravichandran

POSTED ON BY Clarisse Tan

Early last week, we welcomed a new visitor to the museum! Dr. S. Ravichandran, an Assistant Professor at Annamalai University in India, will be here till the end of this week.

He is a crab taxonomist (or carcinologist), with a research career spanning over two decades.

On this visit, Dr. Ravichandran is collaborating with Prof. Peter Ng, Dr. Jose C. E. Mendoza, and Dr. Ng Ngan Kee to identify mangrove and deep-sea crabs from India – focusing on the families Xanthidae, Sesarmidae, and Portunidae.

(From left) Dr. Ravichandran, Dr. Ng Ngan Kee, and Prof. Peter Ng.

They will be working on Dr. Ravichandran’s treasure trove of specimens – an estimated 400 crabs collected from the southeast coast of India.

As of press time, they have discovered one species that is new to science.

That’s not the end, of course. Dr. Ravichandran mentioned that there will be more future collaborations similar to this and even perhaps research exchanges in time to come.

What new insights and hidden gems will be uncovered from their research? Stay tuned to this page for updates!