Mystery Creature

Fish & Invertebrate sightings and descriptions, hosted by resident NWDC ID expert Janna Nichols (nwscubamom).
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Tangfish
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Mystery Creature

Post by Tangfish »

Out of curiosity, does anyone know what this little beast is called?

http://5gyres.org/posts/2011/04/13/a_my ... _our_trawl
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Linedog
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Re: Mystery Creature

Post by Linedog »

Reminds me of my exwife.
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Joshua Smith
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Re: Mystery Creature

Post by Joshua Smith »

I coughed up something like that one time.
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bnboly
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Re: Mystery Creature

Post by bnboly »

Baby horseshoe crab?
It's not broken - it's just missing duct tape!
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H20doctor
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Re: Mystery Creature

Post by H20doctor »

Scary.. +1 for the ex
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Scubak
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Re: Mystery Creature

Post by Scubak »

I thought of a HorseShoe crab at first glance. Any other info?
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Greg Jensen
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Re: Mystery Creature

Post by Greg Jensen »

I didn't have a clue on this one, so posted the link to a listserver for crustacean geeks like me. Antonina dos Santos from Portugal nailed it- it's Cerataspis, something that's only known in this weird (and large) larval form. The adult is thought to be some sort of extremely deep-water shrimp. I found a paper about a bunch of these larvae being found in tuna stomachs.
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oldsalt
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Re: Mystery Creature

Post by oldsalt »

Greg: You're amazing. I love these mystery organisms, in this case known only in its larval form. Perhaps soon, someone can capture these larvae and nurture them to maturity.
- Curt :notworthy:
Happy to be alive.
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Greg Jensen
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Re: Mystery Creature

Post by Greg Jensen »

Apparently we won't have to wait too long to find out. Someone has done a molecular analysis of them and the manuscript is coming out in either Science or Nature- but they can't reveal the answer before it actually comes out. I'll post it when it does.
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