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THE DISCOVERY

In March, 2005, the research submarine Alvin was used to explore hydrothermal vents along the Pacific-Antartic ridge, which is south of Easter Island. The expedition was led by Monetary Bay Aqaurium Reasearch Institute (MBARI) scientist Bob Vrijenhoek. During one Alvin dive, Michel Segonzac, a marine biologist from Institut francais de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer (IFREMER) in France, noticed an unusually large 15 cm long crab with hairy arms lurking on the sea floor. He then asked the pilots of the submarine to collect the rare specimen so he could bring it back to shore and study it. The researchers kept seeing The crabs during the Alvin dives that followed. Most of them living at depths of about 7,200 feet. 

 

THE DISCOVERY CON'T

"Many of the crabs were underneath or behind rocks-all we could see were the tips of their arms sticking out." Says MBARI scientist Joe Jones. They brought the crab back to shore, and Jones and Segonzac observed the animal. When closely examined, they found that it was not only a new species, Kiwa Hirsuta, but a new crustacean family, Kiwidae.

 

 

 

 

 

-Ellen Landrum

 

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