Slashdot Log In
New "Hairy Lobster" Crustacean Discovered and Classified
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Wed Mar 08, 2006 12:24 PM
from the cuddly-fuzzy-dinner dept.
from the cuddly-fuzzy-dinner dept.
AviLazar writes "American-led divers discovered a new type of Crustacean, that resembles a lobster but has it's claws covered in 'sinuous, hair-like strands'. This species is so different, from other Crustacean's that it was classified with a new Family name: Kiwaida. Unfortunately for the Kiwaida, the AP is already using this blind creature and a salad plate in the same sentence."
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading ... Please wait.

just what i need (Score:4, Funny)
Re:just what i need (Score:4, Funny)
But seriously... what else are you eating that causes hairs to get stuck in your teeth?
Re:just what i need (Score:5, Funny)
McDonalds cheeseburgers
Re:just what i need (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, mangos, you pervert!
Seriously, some varieties of mango have in their flesh lots of annoying fibrous hairs connected to the seed. If you try to eat the fruit directly, those hairs get stuck in your teeth. Did I mention those mango varieties are absurdly cheap?
In some tropical countries there's a sex position called "the mango": just like the 69, but with hairs between the teeth. Really!
Re:just what i need (Score:4, Funny)
Re:just what i need (Score:5, Funny)
Re:just what i need (Score:5, Funny)
Obviously (Score:5, Funny)
The edible parts are hairless.
Re:Obviously (Score:4, Funny)
The important question is (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The important question is (Score:5, Funny)
I imagine they taste pretty darn good since they've obviously been intelligently designed as a salad course.
Re:The important question is (Score:5, Funny)
Its lunch and a napkin.
Re:The important question is (Score:5, Funny)
Hairy Lobster? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Hairy Lobster? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Hairy Lobster? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hairy Lobster? (Score:4, Insightful)
"Furry" lobster? (Score:3, Funny)
Why hairy? (Score:5, Funny)
Given that it is blind, I suppose they may be tactile, like a cat's whiskers.
Or perhaps detritous gets stuck in the hairs and it is a rudimentary filter feeder.
Or perhaps most lobsters shave regularly, but since this one's blind... nah.
Re:Why hairy? (Score:5, Informative)
Wait a second.. (Score:4, Funny)
Can lobsters get crabs?
Hairs (Score:5, Interesting)
What makes it especially interesting (Score:5, Informative)
Here, there is no eye, there is only a membrane. This suggests one of two possibilities. Either it has existed in conditions where light would serve no purpose for FAR longer than the "blind" fish - such that the eye has devolved completely, or it predates the evolution of the eye entirely.
This may be testable. It's believed this new crustacean is a new species, but the only real test for this would be to run a DNA test and compare it against known crustacean DNA types. This would also give a good indication of how ancient the species is, as we'd then know how much junk DNA there was and if/when it split off from any other known species.
Talking of DNA, there have been a lot of new species discovered recently, but I've not heard of much DNA work being done and there are still VERY few species in any of the online DNA databases I've seen. I can't help but feel that this is an area of work that isn't being utilized as much as it could be. Sure, it's not cheap, but the masses of DNA sequencing labs that have sprouted up for genealogical DNA work can't possibly be getting enough orders to keep running. There must surely be some way of tapping into existing resources that would bring the cost of the work down to affordable levels.
But, then, maybe not. Absolute production-line marker recognition of one Y chromosome and mDNA of a well-known species over a very narrow time-frame is relatively trivial compared to charting actual base-pairs and chromosomes over an unmapped type of DNA for a species of uncertain classification, where the nearest point of reference might be anywhere from very recent to a few hundred million years apart.
Even so, DNA research for species identification must surely be an area that could supplement the income of such labs, the equipment would only need to be able to do enough work to produce preliminary results of some sort, the promotional value can't hurt, and it would give researchers something more than "it looks really different" to go by.
Bigger pic (Score:5, Informative)
Pic [bbc.co.uk]
Article [bbc.co.uk]
Looks great... (Score:5, Funny)
Jack Handey (Score:5, Funny)
Evolution at work (Score:5, Insightful)
Standard Units of Measure (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Standard Units of Measure (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Standard Units of Measure (Score:5, Funny)
Become a member of PETA, People Eating Tasty Animals.
Re:Standard Units of Measure (Score:5, Funny)
In Re: Salad Plate dimension.
I read your recent hirsute lobster tale (pun very much intended) recently and was flummoxed by your use of "salad plate" as a measure of what I'm guessing is area. Could you please restate the size in dimensions your readership could understand? Perhaps football fields, breadboxes, or tons of TNT?
Thank you humbly,
A.Coward, Esq.
Classify it? (Score:5, Funny)
New Taxonomy (Score:5, Funny)
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Yummy-ness!
Re:New Taxonomy (Score:4, Funny)
Re:New Taxonomy (Score:4, Funny)
I know what Dr Zoidberg has been up to (Score:5, Funny)
the squatter (Score:5, Informative)
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.
These scientists obviously don't know squat! [divetrip.com]Re:the squatter (Score:5, Informative)
From the BBC article: "From its general shape and appearance, the new creature resembles freshwater "squat lobsters" found in South America. But Dr Segonzac said that genetic analysis showed it was closer to marine members of this group."
After a lifetime of hoping... (Score:5, Funny)
Thank God (Score:4, Funny)
I now feel safe enough to creepily browse myspace again...
It's quite obvious what happened... (Score:5, Funny)
Is it tasty though? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Is it tasty though? (Score:5, Informative)
Not saying you're wrong, but why would they? It doesn't make sense. After all, the pressure at depth stops the water from freezing, and so would automatically do the same for any creatures adapted to that environment. Chemical antifreeze would only be required for near-surface beasties, where the pressure isn't there to do the job.
What I'm wondering is what the hairs do when moulting: do they stay with the old shell, or pull through leaving sieve-like holes? The latter would seem to be extraordinarily difficult.
Wait a minute (Score:5, Funny)
Blonde Hair (Score:5, Funny)
Dear god.. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Dear god.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Harry Lobster (Score:5, Funny)
New, Delicious Species Discovered (Score:5, Funny)
Re:American-led divers ... (Score:5, Funny)