Hoff crab
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Hoff crab ( Kiwa tyleri ) |
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| Thatje , 2015 |
The Hoff crab ( Kiwa tyleri ) is a middle crab from the Kiwaidae family that was discovered in 2010 and described in 2015 .
Discovered in 2010 in the southern Atlantic near Antarctica at a depth of over 2,000 meters, the species colonizes hot springs that release mineral-rich water from small chimneys at high pressure into the icy deep sea. The Hoff crab thus inhabits a very similar habitat as the related yeti crab in the Pacific .
Up to 600 Hoff crabs could be counted on one square meter. The springs are of hydrothermal origin, the vents are often pointed conical in shape. The sulfuric acid water flowing out can reach temperatures of 380 degrees Celsius. The crabs settle in areas near the spring, where the water temperature varies between 4 and 30 degrees Celsius.
features
The breastplates of these crabs are very hairy, which is why the English discoverers jokingly named this type of cancer after the actor David Hasselhoff , referring to his trademark, the thick chest hair . However, the scientific species name honors the deep-sea researcher Paul A. Tyler , who teaches at the National Oceanography Center Southampton at the University of Southampton and whose team discovered the species.
Male crabs are slightly larger than female, the largest males can grow up to 15 cm.
Way of life
Since this type of cancer has so far only been detected in the deep sea, researching it is more difficult and can only be explored with deep sea submarines . Most of the observations were therefore made by cameras that were installed in robotic submarines , including powerful searchlights , and could be remotely controlled from the mother ship. Some crabs were caught by the robotic submarines and brought to the sea surface for investigation. According to the current state of research, the crabs feed on heat-resistant and autotrophic bacterial cultures, which the surface of the hair on the crab's belly side serves as a substrate . These bacteria serve the Hoff crabs as energy suppliers, and the closer they are to the hot springs, the better they thrive.
Because of this connection, the larger crabs occupy the upper part of the chimneys. The greater the distance from the heat source, the smaller the crabs become. Fertilized females leave the chimneys and go into the cold area of the deep sea. It is believed that the sulfur-containing water flowing out of the hydrothermal vents could be toxic to the offspring.
Females separated from the warm spring reach a maximum size of 6 cm. The females carry the larvae of their brood hidden under their curled tail. Outside the hot water region, these females are more often exposed to the feeding attacks of other deep-sea inhabitants than their conspecifics near the chimney.
The activity of the chimneys is limited to only a few decades. They close at some point, after a growth process due to the constant mineral enrichment. How the species succeeds in locating and colonizing a new chimney that is necessary for survival when a hot spring runs dry is still unclear. Biologists suspect that the species originated in the Pacific 10 to 40 million years ago and was driven into the Atlantic in the larval stage with ocean currents . The species is classified as critically endangered because of its disjoint distribution in small, specialized areas.
distribution
The species, the only representative of the genus outside the Pacific Ocean , has so far been found in two places in the Scotia Sea near the underwater volcanic craters E2 and E9. The site near E2 is at a depth of 2608 meters, the site near E9 is at a depth of 2394 meters.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sven Thatje, Leigh Marsh, Christopher Nicolai Roterman, Mark N. Mavrogordato, Katrin Linse: Adaptations to Hydrothermal Vent Life in Kiwa tyleri, a New Species of Yeti Crab from the East Scotia Ridge, Antarctica. In: PLOS ONE . Vol. 10, No. 6, June 24, 2015, e0127621, doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0127621 .
- ↑ Martin Busch: "The Hoffs" roots. At: Spektrum.de. June 19, 2013, accessed January 16, 2016.
- ↑ a b c d Swarm on the sea floor. A belly like David Hasselhoff: Yeti crabs live so bizarre at a depth of 2500 meters. At: Focus.de . June 24, 2015, accessed January 17, 2016.
- ^ A b Daniel Lingenhöhl: Deep Sea. The Hoff finally has a name. At: Spektrum.de. June 26, 2015, accessed January 15, 2016.
Web links
- Ghostly Yeti Crab Swarms Discovered Near Antarctica. At: YouTube.com. Video clip, accessed on January 17, 2016.
- Hairy David Hasselhoff crabs love hot springs and group sex. At: derstandard.at. March 7, 2015, accessed January 14, 2016.
- Hoff crabs love hot tubs. At: science.orf.at. March 3, 2015, accessed January 14, 2016.
- Swarming on the ocean floor. A belly like David Hasselhoff: Yeti crabs live so bizarre at a depth of 2500 meters. With video film. At: Focus Online . June 24, 2015, accessed January 14, 2016.
- Deep sea. The Hoff finally has a name. At: Spektrum.de. June 26, 2015, accessed January 15, 2016.
- "The Hoffs" roots. At: Spektrum.de. June 19, 2013, accessed January 16, 2016.