Reality-Catcher

100 STrange Creatures #008

MrLunk — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:21:29 GMT

The Giant Isopod...

Looking like it just crawled out of a bad science fiction movie, the giant isopod is without a doubt one of the strangest creatures found in the deep sea. Known scientifically as Bathynomus giganteus, it is one of about nine members of the genus Bathynomus. It is also the largest known members of the isopod family, a group of crustaceans closely related to shrimps and crabs. The giant isopod is also related to the small pillbugs that you can find in the garden. In fact, this insect-like creature is sometimes referred to as the giant pillbug. Giant isopods are not usually fished commercially, although some can be found in the occasional oceanside restaurant in northern Taiwan, where they are boiled and served with rice.

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Wikipedia links:
ENG: Giant Isopod

More information on Isopods @ seasky.org

100 Strange Creatures #007

MrLunk — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:47:53 GMT

The Goblin Shark ( NL: De Koboldhaai )

The goblin shark, Mitsukurina owstoni (Jordan, 1898), is a bizarre, sinister-looking creature. Growing to a length of over 3.8 m, it has a soft, flabby body, pinkish-gray color, and has a peculiar, blade-like snout overhanging long, highly protruding jaws with with slender, fang-like teeth. The jaws are highly specialized to rapidly extend and quickly snap up small prey.

A Goblin shark in a Tokio aquarium:

The goblin shark has long, sharp teeth in the front of its jaws used to capture prey; the upper teeth are slightly longer than the lower teeth. The teeth in the back of the mouth are smaller and used to crush prey. As with other sharks, the teeth are located in rows that rotate into use as needed.

Goblin Shark in the wild attacking divers:

Wikipedia links:
ENG: Goblin Shark
NL: Koboldhaai

100 Strange Creatures #006

MrLunk — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:09:15 GMT

This is a really freaky one... The Candiru...

Candiru or (or willie) fish, refers to parasitic freshwater catfish of a number of genera in the family Trichomycteridae.They are found in the Amazon River and have a reputation among the natives as the most feared fish in its waters, even over the piranha.They are eel-shaped and translucent, making them almost impossible to see in the water.

This fish is also known to attack humans and animals and swim into an orifice (the vagina, anus, or even the penis—and deep into the urethra). Because of spines protruding from the fish, it is almost impossible to remove except through surgery. Though there have been documented candiru attacks on humans, there is no evidence the fish can survive once inside a human.

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Wikipedia links:
ENG: Candiru or (or willie) fish
NL: Candiru or (or willie) fish