Blind Lobster

This new species of lobster is blind—an adaptation to deep-sea life—and has very bizarre claws, or chelipeds. It belongs to the rare genus Thaumastochelopsi, which was previously known from just four specimens in Australia. This species was discovered about 300 meters (984 feet) deep.

Blind Lobster Information

A new species, this blind lobster with bizarre chelipeds belongs to the rare genus Thaumastochelopsis, which was previously known only from four specimens of two species in Australia. The specimen collected during the MNHN/USNM/BFAR AURORA 2007 expedition from about 300m is a new species. The Blind Lobster has been given the scientific name Dinochelus ausubeli — derived from the Greek dinos, meaning terrible and fearful, and chela, meaning claw, and ausubeli, honouring Jesse Ausubel, a co-founder of the Census of Marine Life. In the picture above is the Blind Lobster found on the NORFANZ voyage in the Tasman sea.