Yeti Crab

Yeti crab is another deep sea creature that I will write about today.  What catches my eye is the unusual hair covering the animal.  Like every deep-sea animal, their unusual appearance conceals some really useful adaptations.  In this case, crabs grow bacteria on silk hairs, which they can eat.  These crabs are completely blind, so hunting prey would be completely impossible.
  Yeti crabs are small (up to 15 cm). They settle near hydrothermal vents (they release warm water). Bacteria grown by crabs neutralize poisonous substances found in water from hydrothermal vents.  Some bacteria feed on such compounds.  Crabs form large clusters, which increases their body temperature.
“It was almost like a sight from another planet.  The yeti crabs were literally in heaps around the hydrothermal vents — in densities in up to 600 per square meter — and all jostling and writhing around to get the best position in the hydrothermal fluid flow.” - Alex Rogers professor of zoology at Oxford University in  2012

Komentarze

  1. englishdiary26 listopada 2023 22:24

    So they basically use their bodies as farming land? How ingenious!

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