Scooping strange sea creatures from the deep

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This feathery crab, scooped up from a depth of about 7,300 feet in the Southern Ocean, has a proper name -- Kiwa hirsuta. But scientists also call it the ‘yeti crab.’ That’s yeti as in the abominable, and presumably fluffy, snowman.

The crustacean is featured in the Census of Marine life, and as Kenneth R. Weiss explains in The Times’ new environmental blog, Greenspace, a vast project is underway to assign or validate names for about 230,000 marine species. Along with Weiss’ report on the oceanic project, Greenspace offers up other animal-related news, including a report on gray wolves.