Crustacean

Yeti crab

Kiwa hirsuta

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic A single ocean

Depth

About 2,200 m, near hydrothermal vents

Size

About 15 cm

Diet

Probably the bacteria that grow on its hairs

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• Discovered in 2005 south of Easter Island, it forced scientists to create a new family, the Kiwaidae.
• Its claws are covered with long pale hairs where bacteria live. It may farm them and then eat them.
• It is blind: at this depth, there is no light at all.
• Kiwa is the name of a goddess of crustaceans in Polynesian mythology, and hirsuta means “hairy” in Latin.

Verified sources

1. MBARI, Discovery of yeti crab
2. Harvard Museum of Natural History, Yeti Crab

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Japanese spider crabMacrocheira kaempferi Giant Pacific octopusEnteroctopus dofleini Casper ghost octopusUndescribed incirrate octopus Giant vent clamCalyptogena magnifica Venus’ flower basketEuplectella aspergillum Vent eelpoutThermarces cerberus