New "Hairy Lobster" Crustacean Discovered and Classified

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."

The important question is

[semiotec (948062)]

what do they taste like?

Re:The important question is

[by Anonymous Coward]

From the article: "The animal is white and 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) long -- about the size of a salad plate."

I imagine they taste pretty darn good since they've obviously been intelligently designed as a salad course.

Why hairy?

[Angostura (703910)]

This raises obvious questions about the value of the 'hairs'.

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?

[foxcorner (873288)]

The equivalent article at the BBC mentions bacteria living in the hair: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4785482. stm [bbc.co.uk]

Hairs

[Billosaur (927319)]

The "hairs" are probably not what we think of as hair, but probably serve as some kind of sensory system, to detect the movement of currents or perhaps the movement of prey nearby, since according to the article: "It's also blind. The researchers found it had only 'the vestige of a membrane' in place of eyes, Segonzac said."

Bigger pic

[StonedRat (837378)]

There's a bigger pic on bbc, reminds me of the big hug from the soup adverts.

Pic [bbc.co.uk]
Article [bbc.co.uk]

Looks great...

[tengennewseditor (949731)]

I want one of those to hang on my rear view mirror.

Jack Handey

[RobotWisdom (25776)]

"People laugh when I say that I think a jellyfish is one of the most beautiful things in the world. What they don't understand is, I mean a jellyfish with long, blonde hair."

Evolution at work

[Aging_Newbie (16932)]

The hair, while surprising, is not if you consider that it could just be a sensory organ [nih.gov]. Note how evolution deprecated the critter's eyes since the hairs would probably be more effective in the 7500 foot depth where it lives. Once in a while it is nice to see that there are still things to be discovered.

Standard Units of Measure

[by Anonymous Coward]

Since when was a salad plate a unit of measure?

Re:Standard Units of Measure

[qwijibo (101731)]

It's a reference point that suggests that this scientific discovery is more of an appetizer than a full meal. Even scientists are humans first. That means when we discover something new, we have to give it a location on the food chain.

Re:Standard Units of Measure

[jeblucas (560748)]

Oh, my... you are correct sir. Let's send a letter to the editor.

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?

[pulse2600 (625694)]

Don't just classify it, provide a recipe too!

New Taxonomy

[cparisi (136611)]

Here is the new Taxonomy order:

Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Yummy-ness!

I know what Dr Zoidberg has been up to

[MooseTick (895855)]

My mother was right! It will make hair grow on your hands.

the squatter

[ExE122 (954104)]

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]

After a lifetime of hoping...

[Rob T Firefly (844560)]

Finally! A crustacean I can hug!!!

It's quite obvious what happened...

[gfxguy (98788)]

An albino tarantula raped a lobster as it was scavenging near shore.

Is it tasty though?

[linzeal (197905)]

A lot of deep sea creatures have ammonia in them for anti-freeze and are not very tasty.

Re:Is it tasty though?

[polymath69 (94161)]

A lot of deep sea creatures have ammonia in them for anti-freeze

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

[tunedfeeders (959821)]

I thought "Hairy Lobster" was the upcoming Ubuntu release...

Blonde Hair

[MECC (8478)]

So blondes aren't going extinct [nbc10.com] after all - they're just just mutating into a more intelligent form.

Re:American-led divers ...

[nblender (741424)]

It _was_ a French scientist who discovered it but then he immediately surrendered to it and it took the arrival of an American scientist to capture it and haul it back for interrogation whereupon it was immediately killed. Rumsfeld disavows all knowledge of this but promises to launch a full investigation.

Re:just what i need

[ForwardThinker (958647)]

I heard they also found a new type of hairy lobster off the brazilian coast ... but it only had a thin strip of hair down the middle!

Obviously

[RealProgrammer (723725)]

you must have remarkably poor technique.

The edible parts are hairless.