Yeti crab – the Movie!

Live from the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity in Aberdeen, it’s . . . Yeti Crab – the Movie!

Perhaps a bit of explanation is in order. We’re live (sort of) in Aberdeen with 953 of our closest friends and colleagues, catching up on the cutting edge of research on the wondrous and varied life of the oceans.

Today we bring you the mascot, and guardian of the unofficial central meeting place of the Conference — a gigantic plush incarnation of the yeti crab (Kiwa hirsuta), normally a denizen of hydrothermal vents and a runaway media sensation since its discovery in 2006 on the Pacific-Antarctic ridge, south of Easter Island.

Here’s the expert testimony from a group of resourceful PhD students and SeaMonster fans, some already on board and others in training, from the University of Southampton (you may need to turn up the volume to get above the din of mingling marine biologists):

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/29694743[/vimeo]

Thank you Ladies! And for a taste of the real thing, here’s the first ever video capture of the critter lumbering (slowly, as animals tend to do in frigid deep-sea water) along the pillowy volcanic rocks of its home on the Pacific-Antarctic ridge, south of Easter Island (at least that’s where it was discovered – metadata not available for the YouTube video):

Stay tuned for late-breaking news from the Conference!