Posable Yeti Crab

          Here is a real life Yeti! Yeti crabs (genus Kiwa, in this case, Kiwa hirsuta) are a species of deep sea crab that inhabits hydrothermal vents around Antarctica. They are a bright white color, and grow up to a foot long. In a paradoxical sentence, I will now state that, despite living near Antarctica, yeti crabs cannot survive will in cold water. To explain; the temperature around hydrothermal vents, where the crabs live, gets up to 720˚ Fahrenheit. The hair on their bodies is used not for warmth, as one might reasonably guess, but instead, the crabs use them to trap bacteria to eat.

         So here I have made a 1:1 scale set of Kiwa hirsuta. I used flexible hoses on the inside of the front legs, so they are posable, and the four other legs are on ball and socket joints, so they move as well. The set contains both the crab and a display stand, and the stand is removable. I varied the color on the crab with some light grays, to make it more realistic. I built this as a sort of remake of an old Ideas project, and think that it would make a great set for its realism, display value, and its educationalism.