| Habitat: Deep-sea | Location: South Pacific Ocean | Lifespan: 10 – 20 years | Size: 15 cm (6 inches) | Weight: 2 – 5 pounds |
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How do yeti crabs have babies?
The crabs reproduce by
releasing many larvae into the water so that a handful reach other vents and colonise them
. But it is thought that they survive for only a short time in open waters; so a strong west-to-east current around Antarctica may have aided their spread.
How does yeti crab survive?
Yeti crabs survive
by growing their own food
, in a sense. The distinctive “hair” on their bodies that gives them their name is scientifically known as setae, and serves as a “garden” where the yeti crabs' favorite food — bacteria — grow.
How deep do Yeti crabs live?
The first one was found in 2005 on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, near Easter Island. Since then, scientists have spotted more Yeti crabs living about
7,200 feet (2,2200 meters) below the ocean's surface
. Most often, they live near areas where warm water is flowing out of the seafloor.
Can you eat yeti crab?
As lobsters go, this one is not very appetizing — it's white, it's covered with hair, and
if you ate it, it would probably taste like rotten eggs
.
Are Yeti crabs actually crabs?
The scientific name for the family of yeti crabs is Kiwa. It is named after the goddess of shellfish in Polynesian mythology.
The yeti is not considered to be a member of the “true crabs,” but rather a closely related group called the squat lobsters, which includes the hermit crabs
.
Are Yeti crabs extinct?
The researchers found that the crabs probably existed in large regions of mid-ocean ridge in the Eastern Pacific, but
they are now extinct in those areas
.
Where does a yeti crab live?
A close up of a male yeti crab (K. tyleri) via the National Environment Research Council.
Do Yeti crabs have eyes?
The yeti crab (Kiwa hirsuta ), an unusual, hairy crab with
no eyes
, was discovered in 2005 on a hydrothermal vent near Easter Island. It represents not only a new species but also a new genus—Kiwa, after the mythological Polynesian goddess of shellfish.
How does a yeti crab move?
Why do Yeti crabs live near hydrothermal vents?
As hydrothermal vents warm the water surrounding water with geothermal heat, they provide a habitat for the Yeti crabs in their immediate environment
. There can be as many as 700 Yeti crabs in a square meter in a hydrothermal vent, so they are extremely successful and well adapted to these warm water “oases.”
How big do yeti crabs get?
Unlike its Abominable Snowman namesake, this clawed crustacean ranges in length from
half a foot (15 centimeters) to under an inch (0.5 centimeter)
. It's only the third known species of yeti crab, a group of shaggy-armed creatures first discovered in the South Pacific in 2005.
What is the Yeti crab classification?
Malacostracans
What did yeti crab evolve from?
In 2000, palaeontologists Carrie Schweitzer and Rodney Feldmann described an unusual fossil crustacean from Alaska,
Pristinaspina gelasina
, which lived in deep-water sediments about 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period.
