Kiwa puravida
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| Kiwa puravida | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Kiwaidae |
| Genus: | Kiwa |
| Species: | K. puravida |
| Binomial name | |
| Kiwa puravida Thurber, Jones & Schnabel, 2011[1] | |
Kiwa puravida is a species of deep-sea dwelling decapod and a member of the genus Kiwa, a genus of animals that are informally known as yeti crabs, after the mythical, hairy creature. This allusion is due to the long, hair-like structures on their claws. Yeti crabs use these hairs to cultivate symbiotic bacteria on their claws which they feed upon.
The specific epithet puravida (translating to "pure life") comes from a Costa Rican Spanish saying (used to answer "How are you doing?" or to say "Thanks"), a homage to where it was discovered.[2]
The yeti crab is typically found to be less than 6 inches in length, weighing 2-5 pounds. Additionally, they typically live up to 10-20 years.[3][better source needed]
Kiwa puravida is placed under the "Bristly" clade of Kiwa, along with Kiwa sp. GM, and Kiwa araonae. Fossil records indicate that these crabs originated from hydrothermal vents in the East Pacific 38 to 33 million years ago and experienced rapid radiation 10 to 16 million years ago.[4]
Distribution
Kiwa puravida was discovered living on the 1,000-metre (3,300 ft) deep sea bottom off the coast of Costa Rica in 2006, and was described in 2011.[5][2][6] The only other members of its family, Kiwa hirsuta, and the Hoff crab, or Kiwa tyleri, are crabs with similarly hairy claws. Kiwa hirsuta was discovered in 2005 near Easter Island, whereas Kiwa tyleri was discovered near the hydrothermal vents of East Scotia Ridge in 2015.[2][7]
