[h3 style="text-align: left;"]New, bizarre looking crustacean discovered [img]vny!://www.boingboing.net/images/_us.i2.yimg.com_p_ap_20060307_capt.par80103071540.france_new_animal_par801.jpg" alt=" Us.I2.Yimg.Com P Ap 20060307 Capt.Par80103071540.France New Animal Par801" align="left" border="1" height="245" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="350"][br clear="all"][/h3][div style="text-align: left;"][a href="vny!://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060308/ap_on_sc/france_new_crustacean"]vny!://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060308/ap_on_sc/france_new_crustacean[/a]
Scientists just announced the discovery of this strange new crustacean 900 miles south of Easter Island. According to a report in the journal of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, divers first found the creature last year at a depth of 7,540 feet. From the Associated Press:[blockquote]Scientists said the animal, which they named Kiwa hirsuta, was so distinct from other species that they created a new family and genus for it. The animal is white and just shy of 6 inches long — about the size of a salad plate.
In what (the French Institute for Sea Exploration's Michel) Segonzac described as a "surprising characteristic," the animal's pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands.
It is also blind. The researchers found it had only "the vestige of a membrane" in place of eyes, Segonzac said.[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"][/blockquote][/div]White, blind, and hairy...I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere that has to do with the kids at Mercer Island High School.
(For out-of-towners, Mercer Island is where all of the rich, beautiful people in Seattle live.)
