The crabs that are purple

Purple crabs have been discovered in the Phillipines.

The crabs purple colour is to attract mates, according to the zoologist who discovered them.

“It is known that crabs can discriminate colours,” says study author Dr. Hendrik Freitag of the Senckenberg Natural History Collections in Dresden “Therefore, it seems likely that the coloration has a signal function for the social behaviour.”

The purple crabs  were all found on the Philippine island of Palawan. They are all  freshwater crabs and were found in the island’s rivers and streams.