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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."

74 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. just what i need by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 3, Funny

    Great, now I get to pick hairs out of my teeth when I eat this, too?

    --
    This guy's the limit!
    1. Re:just what i need by Phaed · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh quit being shellfish - some people like the experience.

      But seriously... what else are you eating that causes hairs to get stuck in your teeth?

    2. Re:just what i need by ForwardThinker · · Score: 5, Funny

      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!

    3. Re:just what i need by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Researchers have also noted that it smells like fish, tastes like chicken, and is related to the bearded clam.

    4. Re:just what i need by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      >But seriously... what else are you eating that causes hairs to get stuck in your teeth?

      McDonalds cheeseburgers

    5. Re:just what i need by mapmaker · · Score: 4, Funny

      You're thinking of the bearded clam.

    6. Re:just what i need by cayenne8 · · Score: 2, Funny
      "You're thinking of the bearded clam."

      If God hadn't meant you to eat it..he wouldn't have made it look so much like a TACO!!

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    7. Re:just what i need by Smurf · · Score: 3, Interesting
      But seriously... what else are you eating that causes hairs to get stuck in your teeth?

      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!
    8. Re:just what i need by ToasterofDOOM · · Score: 3, Funny
      --
      I am Spartacus
    9. Re:just what i need by Mateito · · Score: 2, Interesting

      > But seriously... what else are you eating that causes hairs to get stuck in your teeth?

      Anything prepared on a street stall in Mexico. I reckon they put the hair in it to show that its freshly prepared.

      Having said that, I found a hair in a packet of ready-to-eat curry the other day.

  2. The important question is by semiotec · · Score: 5, Funny

    what do they taste like?

    1. Re:The important question is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.

    2. Re:The important question is by Walkiry · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hehe, Ned Land would be proud ;-)

      --
      ---- Take the Space Quiz!
    3. Re:The important question is by sentientbeing · · Score: 5, Funny

      It tastes great and after youve eaten it you can wipe your chin with its carcass!

      Its lunch and a napkin.

      --

      ------
      beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his mind he dreams himself your master
    4. Re:The important question is by lcsjk · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is that an African Salad plate or a European Salad plate?

  3. Hairy Lobster? by vwjeff · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've heard of a hairy clam but never a hairy lobster.

    1. Re:Hairy Lobster? by winkydink · · Score: 4, Funny

      Finally, an honest slahsdotter who admits to hearing about a hairy (bearded) clam, but not seeing one. :)

      --

      "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

    2. Re:Hairy Lobster? by Eccles · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh, we've seen plenty. Touched, on the other hand...

      --
      Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
    3. Re:Hairy Lobster? by winkydink · · Score: 3, Insightful

      pixels != seeing

      --

      "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

  4. "Furry" lobster? by ninja_pirate · · Score: 3, Funny

    So now furries will be dressing up as this? *shudders*

    1. Re:"Furry" lobster? by bersl2 · · Score: 3, Funny

      The fact that I instantly thought of a picture near your description means that I have seen entirely too much furry pr0n.

      (NOT SAFE FOR WORK! DON'T BLAME ME IF YOU WANT TO GOUGE YOUR EYES OUT AFTERWARDS!)

      I know I've seen other experimental works (i.e., having non-mammalian, non-avian, non-reptilian subjects), and let me tell you, the ones with insects are worse. :)

  5. The real question is... by robyannetta · · Score: 2, Funny

    With or without butter?

    --
    - Just my $0.02, take with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary.
  6. Why hairy? by Angostura · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

    1. Re:Why hairy? by foxcorner · · Score: 5, Informative

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

    2. Re:Why hairy? by jhines · · Score: 2, Interesting

      From the BBC article another user posted, the hairs house lots of filter bacteria which make the toxic mineral vent water paleteable.

    3. Re:Why hairy? by minvaren · · Score: 3, Funny

      The hairs should help prevent it from sticking to magnets.

      --
      Big! Strong! Wow! Tada-O!
  7. Hairs by Billosaur · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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."

    --
    GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
    1. Re:Hairs by Spectre · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Apparently the Intelligent Designer that came up with the "eye that could not possibly have randomly evolved" forgot about this beastie.

      --
      "Flame away, I wear asbestos underwear"
  8. Bigger pic by StonedRat · · Score: 4, Informative

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

    Pic
    Article

    --
    "Religion is the most malevolent of all mind viruses." - Arthur C. Clarke.
  9. Looks great... by tengennewseditor · · Score: 5, Funny

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

  10. Jack Handey by RobotWisdom · · Score: 4, Funny

    "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."

  11. Evolution at work by Aging_Newbie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The hair, while surprising, is not if you consider that it could just be a sensory organ. 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.

    1. Re:Evolution at work by isopodz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      In fact, those hairs are cuticular hairs, and probably not sensory. Other crustaceans have similar hairs, but this species just has a lot on the first legs. An isopod crustacean, Peludo , also has a lot of cuticular hairs. I wonder if this is indeed a new family, as it looks like other members of the galatheid group.

  12. Standard Units of Measure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Since when was a salad plate a unit of measure?

    1. Re:Standard Units of Measure by qwijibo · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.

    2. Re:Standard Units of Measure by jeblucas · · Score: 4, Funny
      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.

      --
      blarg.
    3. Re:Standard Units of Measure by rspress · · Score: 4, Funny

      Here is its location in the food chain, between soup and dessert.

      Become a member of PETA, People Eating Tasty Animals.

    4. Re:Standard Units of Measure by IronChef · · Score: 2, Funny

      You just have to specify if it is an Imperial or SI salad plate.

  13. Classify it? by pulse2600 · · Score: 4, Funny

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

  14. New Taxonomy by cparisi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here is the new Taxonomy order:

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

    1. Re:New Taxonomy by demonbug · · Score: 3, Funny

      I think you have it a bit out of order. At least for me, yummy-ness clearly comes before Order.

    2. Re:New Taxonomy by HolyCrapSCOsux · · Score: 4, Funny

      But you have to Order it first. How else will it get to the table to check it's yummy-ness?

      --
      0xB315AA8D852DCD3F3DCA578FD2E0BF88
  15. Waiter, there's a hair in my Lobster... by digitaldc · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...and I wish to complain to the chef about this disgusting meal!

    Waiter: I'm afraid you'll have to wait, sir. He's just gone out for his dinner.

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  16. I know what Dr Zoidberg has been up to by MooseTick · · Score: 5, Funny

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

    1. Re:I know what Dr Zoidberg has been up to by DarkSarin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I eat venison. Deer are much prettier.

      As far as I'm concerned its only a matter of time before this shows up on Iron Chef as the Secret Ingredient. Batali may have trouble with this one, but Morimoto probably already has 5 dishes planned.

      Another edible food? Perfect...

      --
      "We don't know what we are doing, but we are doing it very carefully,..." Wherry, R.J. Personnel Psychology (1995)
  17. Re:American-led divers ... by nblender · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.

  18. the squatter by ExE122 · · Score: 4, 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!
    --
    Capitalism: When it uses the carrot, it's called democracy. When it uses the stick, it's called fascism.
    1. Re:the squatter by Rxke · · Score: 5, Informative

      They do.
      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."

  19. After a lifetime of hoping... by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 4, Funny

    Finally! A crustacean I can hug!!!

  20. Thank God by kukickface · · Score: 4, Funny

    At first I misread the title as: "New 'Hairy Lobster' Crustacean Discovered in Classifieds"

    I now feel safe enough to creepily browse myspace again...

  21. It's quite obvious what happened... by gfxguy · · Score: 4, Funny

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

    --
    Stupid sexy Flanders.
  22. Is it tasty though? by linzeal · · Score: 5, Interesting

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

    1. Re:Is it tasty though? by polymath69 · · Score: 4, Informative
      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.

      --

      --
      I don't want to rule the world... I just want to be in charge of mayonnaise.
    2. Re:Is it tasty though? by linzeal · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well a lot of hydrothermal vents have ammonia around them and a lot of the bacteria use it as a food souce, perhaps the ammonia in the animals is just a breakdown product of their food cycle that also is an anti-freeze.

  23. Obviously by RealProgrammer · · Score: 5, Funny

    you must have remarkably poor technique.

    The edible parts are hairless.

    --
    sigs, as if you care.
    1. Re:Obviously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      You must not be asian.

  24. Wait a minute by tunedfeeders · · Score: 5, Funny

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

  25. Blonde Hair by MECC · · Score: 5, Funny

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

    --
    "We are all geniuses when we dream"
    - E.M. Cioran
  26. Misleading subject by drunkgoat · · Score: 2, Funny

    "New 'Hairy Lobster' Crustacean Discovered and Classified" Was it just me, or did anyone else read that and think of some government agency trying to classify and cover up a secret new form of life?

  27. Dear god.. by boingo82 · · Score: 5, Informative
    this is by FAR the worst grammar I have ever seen in a summary. I am actually depressed.

    "American-led divers discovered a new type of Crustacean,(comma unnecessary) that (which)resembles a lobster but has it's (its, dammit) claws covered in 'sinuous, hair-like strands'. This species is so different, (comma unnecessary) from other Crustacean's (apostrophe inappropriate) 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."
    --
    As a republican I feel it my responsibity to manufacture criminals. People need punished!
    1. Re:Dear god.. by Psmylie · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You'd see a lot more accuracy in grammar if people had to successfully compile a statement before being able to get their point across.

      --

      psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo

  28. Tagging by Jonboy+X · · Score: 2, Funny

    Finally! A story that I can use the "crustacean" tag on!

    --

    "In a 32-bit world, you're a 2-bit user. You've got your own newsgroup, alt.total.loser." -Weird Al
  29. Ubuntu 6.04 "Hairy Lobster"? by GNU(slash)Nickname · · Score: 2, Funny

    Am I the only one who read that headline and thought it was about the next Ubuntu release?

  30. Re:Ick, but... by cayenne8 · · Score: 2, Funny
    "Sinuous hair-like strands? Those don't sound tasty at all."

    Those are for flossing after the meal...

    :-)

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  31. Good question by jd · · Score: 2, Informative
    The photographs don't show an individual hair under a microscope (pity) but the density would be good for both sensing and feeding. My guess would be both. The BBC's photos show it floating, not on the sea bed, which tends more towards the filter feeding, but being able to tell sea currents would likely be valuable.


    I can't remember if it's the anemone or the sea urchin (or both) that uses "arms" to guide food to a mouth. If there is a central mouth, rather than one on each hair (as you might expect on a filter feeder), then my guess would be that the hairs are manipulators for food particles.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  32. The Ubuntu team thanks the hairy lobster... by TheScreenIsnt · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...for providing a great name for the next release. We were going to go with *zit-faced swamp-donkey*.

  33. Re:Great! But, the family name is incorrect. by cutedinochick · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, maybe they say "family" for simplicity but perhaps it's a subfamily or who knows. Besides, they're not using the Linnaean system so much anymore so even using words like "family" and whatnot is on its way out. Most families end in -idae (pronounced -idee), but there are exceptions and with the different hierarchical levels becoming less and less distinct (are orders, etc. equivalent across taxa?) and recognized, that "rule" is also losing favor. The hierarchy doesn't make much sense nowadays, and there are so damn many nomenclatural rules to follow that some of the less important ones eventually fade from use.

    Or it may be a mispelling.

  34. Harry Lobster by Edward+Teach · · Score: 4, Funny

    And the Goblet of Butter

    --

    Setting his threshold to 5, Sparky eliminated most of the trolls on /.

  35. Wait a second.. by murderlegendre · · Score: 3, Funny

    Can lobsters get crabs?

    --
    There's a Starman, waiting in the sky / He'd like to come and meet us, but he hasn't got the time.
  36. New, Delicious Species Discovered by Michael+Woodhams · · Score: 4, Funny

    Life imitates The Onion: New, Delicious Species Discovered

    --
    Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
  37. So that you don't make my mistake: by aphoenix · · Score: 2, Insightful

    A word of advice: don't just say to a co-worker, "Hey, have you seen the fuzzy lobster?" You might end up talking to the ombudsman about sexual harassment...

  38. Taggin beta by killermookie · · Score: 2, Funny

    Anyone else notice the tagging beta line as:

    lobster, crustacean, salad, food (tagging beta)

    Do you really think this lobster really wanted to be discovered?

  39. First action by Geminii · · Score: 2, Funny

    The first action the hairy-palmed lobster took on being captured was to ask for broadband, the best lure for its natural prey - internet prawn.

  40. What makes it especially interesting by jd · · Score: 5, Informative
    Is that many "blind" fish exist, trapped in underground lakes where eyes serve no purpose. Fish transported there don't become blind, it is only the fish that have been there countless generations. HOWEVER, they go blind by a membrane growing over the eye. The eye is still there and research (from what I understand) suggests that the eye is still fully functional.


    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.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)