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New Animal Resembling Furry Lobster Found |
PARIS Mar 7, 2006 (AP)— 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.
This photo on the right released Tuesday March 7,
2006 by the IFREMER (French Research Institute for
Exploitation of the Sea) shows a new crustacean,
called "Kiwi hirsuta". The eyeless shellfish, about
15cm long was discovered in March 2005 during a
diving mission led by American researcher Robert
Vrijenhoek, of the MBARI Institut, Cal., in
hydrothermal vents of the Pacific Antartic Ridge,
south of Easter Island. (AP Photo/A Fifis; IFREMER)
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.
This photo on the right released Tuesday March 7,
2006 by the IFREMER (French Research Institute for
Exploitation of the Sea) shows a new crustacean,
called "Kiwi hirsuta". The eyeless shellfish, about
15cm long was discovered in March 2005 during a
diving mission led by American researcher Robert
Vrijenhoek, of the MBARI Institut, Cal., in
hydrothermal vents of the Pacific Antartic Ridge,
south of Easter Island. (AP Photo/A Fifis; IFREMER)
As updates become available we will present them here. Frank Riccardi Director, Eyepod.Org/usassociates.us
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Investigative links
appear above... FRJ
appear above... FRJ
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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.
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.