Lobster named after Nelson Mandela
A new species of crustacean has been named in honour of Nelson Mandela. The squat lobster is related to hermit crabs and now has the Latin name Munidopsis mandelai in honour of the South African revolutionary.
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The sea creature was discovered in a relatively unexplored area of the Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, off the coast of South Africa, in 2011.
It was found to live 750 metres below the ocean’s surface and is very small, with a carapace (the length from its eyes to its rear edge) measuring just seven millimetres.
The new species was found by Diva Amon, a PhD student based at the Natural History Museum, London, who was taking part in a study about submerged wood and whale bone.
It was sent to Dr Paul Clark, an invertebrates researcher at the museum and Dr Enrique Macpherson, of Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, Spain, to be identified.
‘We discovered the new species unexpectedly during a larger experiment investigating submerged wood and bones in the Southwest Indian Ocean seamount, an unexplored area, said Ms Amon.
‘The finding provides us with another example of how deep sea research continues to reveal the mysteries of underwater ecosystems,’ she added.
Dr Clark said: ‘This species was collected in great depths in an isolated area just off of South Africa and identified in summer 2013, proving that deep sea research continues to produce new scientific discoveries.
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‘We thought it would be a fitting tribute to name this find in honour of Mr Mandela, a remarkable man.’