And we thought our crabs were hairy ...

Shanghaiist reader Owen writes:

You think Shanghai's got hairy crabs, check out this newly discovered crustacean.

As a (cliched) Australian would say, "You call that a hairy crustacean...I'll show you a hairy crustacean."

From the AP story:

Divers have discovered a new crustacean in the South Pacific which resembles a lobster and is covered with what looks like silky, blonde fur, French researchers say.

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.

A team of American-led divers found the animal in waters 2300 metres deep at a site 1500 kilometres south of Easter Island last year, according to Michel Segonzac of the French Institute for Sea Exploration. ...

The animal is white and 15 centimetres long - about the size of a salad plate.

In what Segonzac described as a "surprising characteristic," the animal's pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands.

It's also blind. The researchers found it had only "the vestige of a membrane" in the place of eyes, Segonzac said.

Salad plate? We're pretty sure our old ayi would have drowned these guys in a sticky brown sauce ... just like she did everything else.

Also on Shanghaiist:
Dude, where did I get these crabs?
How to have your crab … and eat it, too