The Hoff crab named after David Hasselhoff
January 4th, 2012 - 9:01 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattLos Angeles, Jan 4 (THAINDIAN NEWS) UK scientists have named a new crab specie The Hoff crab because of its hairy chest. This is the first time that the specie has been discovered so scientists have not yet classified it. US actor David Hasselhoff inspired the crab’s nickname because he often goes bare-chested himself.
The animal was found off the South of Georgia by a group of scientists led by Professor Alex Rogers. Massive numbers of the creature was seen at the location.
Dr Rogers from Oxford University’s Department of Zoology said that, “The crab occurs in staggering densities. It is just incredible to see these animals literally lying in heaps around the diffuse flow of these vents. In places, they reached as many as 600 individuals per square metre.”
Scientists from the National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton and the British Antarctic Survey are currently involved in tracking new crab and fish species under the ocean. Using the ocean robot Isis, the scientists have already reported spotting new species octopus, starfish, sea anemones and barnacles.
The Isis is designed to go about 6 kilometers below the surface of the ocean and bring out data from the ocean floor.
Scientists reported the results of the exploration in the journal PLoS Biology.
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