But can it play fetch?

Insert (heh) "bearded clam" joke here.

You are entering a dimension between the kind of cool and the very disturbing. A dimension between tasty shellfish and Golden Retrievers. There's a signpost up ahead: Next stop--The Furry Lobster Zone...

Divers have discovered a new crustacean in the South Pacific that resembles a lobster and is covered with what looks like silky, blonde fur, French researchers said Tuesday.

Scientists said the animal, which they named Kiwa hirsuta, was so distinct from other species that they created a new genus and new family for it.

A team of American-led divers found the animal in waters 7,540 feet deep at a site 900 miles south of Easter Island last year, according to Michel Segonzac of the French Institute for Sea Exploration, or IFREMER.

...The animal is white and 5.9 inches long, about the size of a salad plate.

In what Segonzac described as a "surprising characteristic," the animal's pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands.

There's no word yet on how the thing tastes, but since the French discovered it, I'm sure we won't have to wait too long to find out.

via Lee at Right-Thinking from the Left Coast