Kiwa hirsuta
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| Kiwa hirsuta Macpherson, Jones & Segonzac, 2006 |
Kiwa hirsuta is a crustacean discovered in 2005 in the South Pacific Ocean[1]. This decapod, which is approximately 15 cm (6 inches) long, is notable for the quantity of silky blond setae (resembling fur) covering its pereiopods (thoracic legs, including claws). Its discoverers dubbed it the "yeti lobster" or "yeti crab"[2].
K. hirsuta was discovered in March 2005 by a group organised by Robert Vrijenhoek of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Monterey, California, using the submarine DSV Alvin, operating from RV Atlantis[3]. The discovery was announced on the 7th of March, 2006. It was found 1,500 km (900 miles) south of Easter Island in the South Pacific, at a depth of 2,200 m (7,200 feet), living on hydrothermal vents along the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge[4]. Based on both morphology and molecular data, the species was deemed to form a new genus and family (Kiwaidae). The animal has strongly reduced eyes that lack pigment, and is thought to be blind.
The 'hairy' pincers contain filamentous bacteria, which the creature may use to detoxify poisonous minerals from the water emitted by the hydrothermal vents where it lives. Alternatively, it may feed on the bacteria, although it is thought to be a general carnivore[2]. Its diet also consists of green algae and small shrimp.
Although it is often referred to as the "furry lobster" outside the scientific literature [2], Kiwa hirsuta is not a true lobster but is more closely related to squat lobsters and hermit crabs. The term "furry lobster" is more commonly used for the genus Palinurellus.
[edit] Etymology
Macpherson et al. named the genus Kiwa after "the goddess of the shellfish in the Polynesian mythology". However, they don't give a source and it is probable that they are mistaken, as Kiwa is a male guardian of the sea in Maori mythology.[5] Hirsuta means "hairy" in Latin.
[edit] References
- ^ E. Macpherson, W. Jones & M. Segonzac (2006). A new squat lobster family of Galatheoidea (Crustacea, Decapoda, Anomura) from the hydrothermal vents of the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. Zoosystema 27 (4): 709–723.
- ^ a b c 'Furry lobster' found in Pacific (BBC News, 8 March 2006)
- ^ Easter Microplate Expedition (March 12–April 6, 2005)
- ^ French Journal Says New Crustacean Found. Retrieved on 7 March 2006. (Yahoo News, 8 March 2006)
- ^ Elsdon Best. "IV. Cosmogony and Anthropogeny", The Maori - Volume 1, 89–105.
