Welcome to Week 5 of the Sea Creature Of The Week blog. A blog where I write about a different fascinating sea creature every week, from proterozoic to holocene, extinct and extant.

This week I'm back presenting...

The Yeti Crab

As you could probably guess the name comes from the hairy and bristly appearance, that resembles that of the snow monster Yeti. It's a type of deep sea crustacean located in the South Pacific, it grows to be about 6 inches (15 centimeters) and weighs about 2-5 lbs (1-3 kilograms). It's diet consists of mussels and bacteria that are fertilized on it's own legs. It's white appearance is a result of it's deep sea habitat, as it lives solely in the dark, there is no color pigment present making the yeti crab appear white. The eyes of this creature have not fully developed which makes it virtually blind. Scientists believe that the claw hairs – known as setae – are very likely sensors that assist the nearly blind creature to find food, and a mate

It's first species was discovered by scientists in 2005 in the hydrothermal vents along the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge on the ocean floor. Since it's discovery more species have been discovered, the fifth and most recent being discovered in 2013. The extreme cold temperatures of the deep-sea would kill the yeti crab, so the warmer hydrothermal vents create the habitat that sustains them, scientists finding them in swarming clusters around the vents. The official name Kiwa hirsuta comes from mythology, the Polynesian goddess of shellfish named Kiwa and hirsuta is the latin word for hairy. 

There have been reports that the kiwa have been seen eating mussels, the shells of those mussels were opened in order for the flesh to be consumed. Possibly the cutting edge of the claw finger of the yeti crab that scientists believe is for other parts of the yeti creature's was used to do this. It's important to note point the high concentration of bacteria on the hairy claws scientists believe to potentially being used to detoxify the poisonous materials that exist in the water coming from the hydrothermal vents. 

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