First species of Yeti Crab in Antarctica named Kiwa tyleri discovered

A team of British scientists led by Dr Sven Thatje on 24 June 2015 published the discovery of the first species of Yeti Crab in Antarctica in the journal PLOS ONE. The species has been named Kiwa tyleri after British deep-sea and polar biologist Professor Paul Tyler from the University of Southampton.

The crab that belongs to an enigmatic group of squat lobsters, known as Kiwaidae, was found from hydrothermal vent systems of the East Scotia Ridge in the Southern Ocean, Antarctica.

Earlier when this hairy crab was first discovered in the Antarctic waters, it was nicknamed as The Hoff, in reference to actor David Hasselhoff.

These crabs flourish in the hot waters surrounding the geothermally heated hydrothermal vents and are dominant species at these sites occurring at extremely high densities, exceeding 700 specimens per square metre.

Yeti crabs are famous for its body, which is densely covered by bristles, known as setae, and bacteria that gives it a fur like appearance.

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