The abominable snowman has been found hanging out at the bottom of the ocean in the Antarctic! The Yeti crab (Kiwa hirsuta) was discovered in 2005 as a new genus and new species that hangs out near hydrothermal vents of the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. Named for their very hairy claws, scientists speculate that these blind decapods “farm” filamentous bacteria that come up from the plumes of warm water on their setae (hair-like spines) for food.

Sketch and fact contributed by Karli Chudeau

Source: Macpherson, E., Jones, W., & Segonzac, M. (2005). A new squat lobster family of Galatheoidea (Crustacea, Decapoda, Anomura) from the hydrothermal vents of the Pacific Antarctic Ridge. Zoosystema, 27(4), 709-723.