Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 7, 2012

Take That Thor! Secret of Hard-Hitting Crustacean Claw Found

If sea creatures were Marvel comic book characters, the peacock mantis shrimp would be Thor. These colorful crustaceans have a hammerlike claw that can smash prey with the acceleration of a 0.22-caliber bullet — not unlike the superhero's mythological weapon. Now, a new study reveals the secrets behind the strength...

Jun 15, 2012

New Crustacean Species Discovered Off Spain

A new species of crustacean has been discovered in the underwater mountains off the northwest coast of Spain, scientists recently announced. The squat lobster is orange and a little over 2 inches (5 centimeters) long. Squat lobsters are more closely related to porcelain and hermit crabs than true lobsters. It...

Jun 28, 2012

Critically Endangered 'Tree Lobsters' Hatched at Zoo

Three critically endangered insects called Lord Howe Island stick insects, also known as tree lobsters, have been hatched at the San Diego Zoo for the first time. The species was thought to be extinct after 1920, when the last known wild tree lobsters were devoured by rats on their native...

Jul 10, 2012

Caribbean Crustacean Named for Bob Marley

The late Jamaican musician Bob Marley has joined the I have a species named after me club, as a parasitic crustacean has been donned Gnathia marleyi, researchers announced today (July 10). This blood feeder infests certain fish that live among the coral reefs of the shallow eastern Caribbean Sea. I...

Sep 6, 2012

Strange Deep-Sea Crabs May Color-Code Their Food

What good is color vision in the dark of the deep sea? For some crabs, an ability to see blue and ultraviolet light may mean the difference between chowing down on a good meal versus a toxic one. A new study published today (Sept. 6) in the Journal of Experimental...

Sep 11, 2012

Invasive Crayfish Smuggled Alien Species Overseas

When the red swamp crayfish invaded Europe more than 30 years ago, it may have smuggled another species overseas. Scientists say they've found an alien type of tiny crustacean in Spain, and evidence suggests it came from North America on the back of the crayfish. A team of researchers collected...

Sep 11, 2012

Ice-Loving Crustaceans Ride Arctic Conveyer Belt

Flea-like crustaceans that rely on Arctic ice may be using deep ocean currents as a sort of conveyer belt to bring them back to the pack after their ice has drifted out to sea, new research suggests. If it is indeed how the tiny crustaceans keep from going too far...

Nov 16, 2012

World's Largest Land Crabs Tracked With GPS

GPS technology has revolutionized the study of vertebrates like whales, birds and monkeys, allowing scientists to learn more about the animals' behaviors and sometimes-lengthy migrations. But nobody has used the technology to study arthropods, the world's most abundant animals, until now. A study published this week in the journal PLoS...

Nov 26, 2012

How 'Smashing' & 'Spearing' Shrimp Speedily Attack Prey

Spearing mantis shrimp hide in their burrows and wait for an unsuspecting creature to come along. Then, in the blink of an eye, they spear it with their long claws, like an underwater archer. How do they spear their prey so quickly? Maya deVries, a researcher at the University of...

Jan 16, 2013

Barnacles' Sneaky Penises Send Sperm on Sea Journey

For barnacles, which are stuck in one place, sex can be tricky. The shelled sea creatures have been known to use extra-long penises to fertilize their nearest neighbors. Now researchers have discovered that when those neighbors are too far away, barnacles will broadcast their sperm and wind up with long-distance...

Jan 16, 2013

Crabs Really Do Feel Pain: Study

Scientists have long held that crabs are unable to feel pain because they lack the biology to do so, but behavioral evidence has recently shown otherwise. Now, new research further supports the hypothesis that crabs feel pain by showing that crabs given a mild shock will take steps to avoid...

Apr 4, 2013

Invasive Crabs Help Restore Marsh

You may not be able to fight fire with fire, but fighting crabs with crabs may have some merit. Researchers studying the imperiled marshes of Cape Cod were recently surprised to discover that a section of the marsh was coming back, sprouting a veneer of cordgrass, according to a news...

Apr 8, 2013

Spooky Crabs Darken Camouflage From Day to Night

Some teenagers like to stand out with wild hairstyles and flashy clothes, but young horned ghost crabs prefer to blend into the background. Juvenile crabs mimic daily changes in their environment, shifting their coloring from day to night, new research suggests. When the sun's bright at noon, the crab's light...

Apr 8, 2013

Supersized Crabs Bad News for Seafood Lovers

The giant crabs are coming. And they're hungry. Researchers at the University of North Carolina's (UNC) Aquarium Research Center have found that higher atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide — a greenhouse gas that's linked to global warming — are also causing crabs to grow to bigger, faster and stronger, according...

Apr 8, 2013

Hermit Crab Species Found Alive for First Time

A recent submarine dive turned up a species of hermit crab that was previously only known through dead, dried specimens procured more than a century ago. The sub collected a few of the animals, known as Pylopagurus discoidalis, from the Caribbean and brought them back to an aquarium, where they...