Nov 5, 2006

Santa's Bane

This arctic crab was sent to me by Ilk. It's one more reason to avoid the frozen wastes of the north pole. I've seen Aliens - I know what these guys do. I don't want an ovipositor rammed down my throat, only to wake up later and have a baby alien burst out of my gut. I wonder how Santa Claus deals with these.

Actually, I don't know much at all about this crab. I know it's from the arctic and it's far too spider-like. Any students of marine life care to weigh in on this one?

Thanks for the photo, Ilk.

UPDATE: Thanks to Rasmus, we now know this to be a Sea Spider. Very aptly named. Thanks for the common sense, science.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a sea spider, or pycnogonid, a sister group of scorpions, spiders and harvestmen.

Raging Wombat said...

Rasmus, you are a true prodigy. I'm going to have to look into those other creatures you mention and see what gems I can find.