March 8, 200620 yr Linkage French Journal Says New Crustacean Found Tue Mar 7, 6:58 PM ET PARIS - Divers have discovered a new crustacean in the South Pacific that resembles a lobster and is covered with what looks like silky, blonde 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 genus and new family for it. A team of American-led 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, or IFREMER. The new crustacean is described in the journal of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. The animal is white and 5.9 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. The diving expedition was organized by Robert Vrijenhoek of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.
March 8, 200620 yr Pretty dang cool. Not just a new species or even genus, but an entire new decapod family. I [heart] zoology.
March 8, 200620 yr The ocean and the jungles are still so unknown to us. Its amazing how much of this stuff is still out there to discover.
March 8, 200620 yr And here it is: getting a look at it, externally I'm surprised it has been deemed distinct enough to warrant a new family designation. The family name given in the CNN report – Kiwaida – has to be wrong. Zoological family designations all end in -dae, so I'm sure it's actually been designated Kiwaidae and that is a typo. The family and genus and species are derived from Kiwa, who is apparently the Polynesian goddess of crustaceans. The species name (hirsuta) refers of course to the hirsute (hairy) appendages. Cool indeed. Edited March 8, 200620 yr by FlaSoxxJim
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