While we’re on the subject of marine wildlife, here’s a story we missed from over the weekend. A new species of lobster which was discovered off of the coast of South Africa has been officially named in honour of the late president Nelson Mandela, who passed away in December.

One can only imagine how the great man would greet such an honour – one suspects he’d find it enormously amusing. The tiny creature was discovered 750m on the Southwest Indian Ridge, which separates the African and Antarctic tectonic plates. According to the paper describing its discovery, the lobster was first encountered in December 2011 by Diva Amon, and identified as a new species last summer.

The lobster itself is just 7mm long, and has been christened Munidopsis mandelai. The official etymology of the name reads:

This species is named for Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, Father of a Nation, Elder Statesman, and a remarkable man.

Well, quite.

(Via Science and Technology World, Image copyright Natural History Museum)