How Do Yeti Crabs Breed?

Discovery

• Scientists discovered the yeti crab in 2005 in hydrothermal vents along the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge, south of Easter Island, living at a depth of more than 7,500 feet. German scientists studying the lava in these hydrothermal vents may have been the first to see the species in 2001. However, the credit for discovering the yeti crab goes to French researchers conducting a study led by a scientist with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.

Classification

• Scientists created a new taxonomic family, Kiwidae, to classify this species of crustacean. The new family was named after Kiwa, the Polynesian goddess of crustaceans. The yeti crab is a distant relative of the hermit crab, which lives in tide pools.

Physical Characteristics

• The yeti crab is about 6 inches long, but its most distinguishing feature is its long, hairy claws. The hair-like spines present on the claws are called setae, which are home to colonies of filamentous bacteria. Researchers still do not know the function of the setae, but they believe that the bacteria colonies living on the setae help detoxify poisonous minerals present in the water. Some researchers also claim that crabs may be holding on to the bacteria to consume them later or they may be using the bacteria to find food or mates.

  The shape and appearance of the yeti crab are quite similar to the squat lobster that lives in the fresh waters of South America. Yeti crabs are blind, having just a membrane where the eyes should be.

Habitat

• The furry crab lives in hydrothermal vents deep in the floor of the ocean. The vents emit water containing toxins that are harmful to other marine animals. These crabs live under rocks on recent lava flows or where the ocean floor emits hot water. The water temperature in these vents can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit, making them uninhabitable by most known creatures.

Diet

• This new species of crabs is believed to be a carnivore because its digestive system is similar to that of a carnivore. However, researchers believe that they mainly subsist on marine animals and algae. The crabs were also seen eating mussels from the floor of the ocean. In lab settings, researchers have observed the crab fighting other crabs over a shrimp.