Wired reports on the discovery of Speleonectes atlantida, “the cave swimmer of Atlantis” by Texas A&M researchers in the Tunel de la Atlántida, a volcanic cave near the Canary Islands. Charming.
Among its many features, aside from looking like Satan’s own translucent centipede, it is sightless and poisonous, complete with nasty fangs.
The divers were searching for specimens of a closely related crustacean species that they’d discovered 25 years ago in the same cave. But after capturing several of the sea creatures, the researchers noticed something peculiar.
“Some animals were much more active in swimming around than others in the small sample bottles,†said marine biologist Tom Iliffe of Texas A&M University at Galveston, who was part of the team that discovered the new species. “On closer examination, and subsequently with DNA testing, we confirmed that they were actually two different species.â€
So, just so we’re straight on this, its a blind and poisonous creature that’s much more active and, therefore, liable to thrash around blindly poisoning things. Lovely.
Sure, judging by the fact it can be bottled, it’s tiny and it isn’t poisonous enough to kill a human. But why take the chance? Don’t go in the water. Things in there want you to die.