by nomo » Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:49 pm
New animal resembles furry lobster<br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/03/08/furry.lobster.ap/index.html">www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/sci...index.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>Wednesday, March 8, 2006; Posted: 5:15 a.m. EST (10:15 GMT)<br><br><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/TECH/science/03/08/furry.lobster.ap/story.lobster.ap.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>The crustacean's pincers are covered <br>with sinuous, hair-like strands.<br></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br>PARIS, France (AP) -- Divers have 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.<br><br>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.<br><br>A team of American-led divers found the animal in waters 2,300 meters (7,540 feet) deep at a site 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) south of Easter Island last year, according to Michel Segonzac of the French Institute for Sea Exploration.<br><br>The new crustacean is described in the journal of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.<br><br>The animal is white and 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) long -- about the size of a salad plate.<br><br>In what Segonzac described as a "surprising characteristic," the animal's pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands.<br><br>It's also blind. The researchers found it had only "the vestige of a membrane" in place of eyes, Segonzac said.<br><br>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.<br><br>The family was named Kiwaida, from Kiwa, the goddess of crustaceans in Polynesian mythology.<br><br>The diving expedition was organized by Robert Vrijenhoek of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>On edit: link added</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=nomo@rigorousintuition>nomo</A> at: 3/8/06 11:50 am<br></i>