Creatures of the deep: 8 living treasures uncovered by a Singapore-Indonesia expedition off West Java
Despite choppy waters brought on by the tailwind effects of a cyclone, researchers on a pioneering deep-sea expedition in the waters off the southern coast of West Java uncovered many living treasures some 500m to 2km under the sea. At least three were previously unknown to science. Samantha Boh looks at some of these intriguing creatures uncovered by the team led by scientists from Singapore and Indonesia.
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Samantha Boh
DEEP-SEA DECORATOR CRAB
This is a new species of deep-sea decorator crab of the genus Tunepugettia, one of more than 30 crab species found so far. This crab places objects on the rows of hairs on its body to camouflage itself from predators as it scavenges for food on the ocean floor. It is 5cm long and is found from 400m to 800m underwater.
