Researchers have documented a rare instance of gynandromorphy – an animal showing both male and female characteristics – in a freshwater crab in Silent Valley National Park, Kerala.
- The crab belongs to the species Vela carli.
- This is the first such case recorded in the freshwater crab family Gecarcinucidae.
- Vela carli is endemic to the Western Ghats and lives in tree holes within the forest ecosystem.