New Delhi: A new species of lobster (Squat lobsters) discovered in a relatively unexplored area of the Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, off the coast of South Africa, in 2011 has been named as
Munidopsis mandelai in honour of the South African revolutionary leader Nelson Mandela.
Munidopsis was found to live 750 metres below the ocean's surface and is very small, with a carapace measuring just seven millimeters
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.
Squat lobsters are flattened crustaceans with long tails held curled beneath the thorax.
