Posted on 03/08/2006 9:11:25 AM PST by zarf
PARIS - A team of American-led divers has discovered a new crustacean in the South Pacific that resembles a lobster and is covered with what looks like silky, blond fur, French researchers said Tuesday.
Scientists said the animal, which they named Kiwa hirsuta, was so distinct from other species that they created a new family and genus for it.
The divers found the animal in waters 7,540 feet deep at a site 900 miles south of Easter Island last year, according to Michel Segonzac of the French Institute for Sea Exploration.
The new crustacean is described in the journal of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
The animal is white and just shy of 6 inches long — about the size of a salad plate.
In what Segonzac described as a "surprising characteristic," the animal's pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands.
It is also blind. The researchers found it had only "the vestige of a membrane" in place of eyes, Segonzac said.
The researchers said that while legions of new ocean species are discovered each year, it is quite rare to find one that merits a new family.
The family was named Kiwaida, from Kiwa, the goddess of crustaceans in Polynesian mythology.
The diving expedition was organized by Robert Vrijenhoek of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.
MMMMMM taste like chicken.....LOL
Well?
How does it taste?
OH great. Blond mutant lobsters :P
so.... how do they taste (Like chicken?)
Saw a pic of this on FOX this morning. Couldn't decide whether it's beautiful or ugly!
Wonder if it tastes good?
Beat me to it...Chicken huh?
ROFL
Looks like a Morlock crab.
Looks like something from Toys R Us.
Oy... Looks kinda like my dad's eyebrows fell off and sprouted legs...
My thoughts too :)
Who says blondes don't have more fun? Heck, at least they don't end up on the dinner table.
In that case, let's hope it's not genetic! Ewww!
not yet, anyway!
Yikes! I have a good supply of eyebrow strips on hand, for just such an eventuality! ;o)
How cute. I want one for Christmas.
Looks like an albino crawfish on Rogaine.
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