Free Republic

Stalin's last army: hordes of gigantic crabs on their way to invade Europe - By Julius Strauss in Kirkenes, Northern Norway Millions of giant Pacific crabs, whose ancestors were brought to Europe by Joseph Stalin in the 1930s, are marching south along Norway's coast, devouring everything in their path.The monster crabs, which can weigh up to 25lb and have a claw-span of more than three feet, are proving so resilient that scientists fear they could end up as far south as Gibraltar. Energised by a mysterious population explosion a decade ago, whole armies of the crustaceans - known as the...

Oldest lobster fossil uncovered in Mexico REUTERS May 4, 2007 MEXICO CITY – Mexican scientists said they have identified the world's oldest lobster fossil, that of a creature alive when Africa was only just breaking apart from the Americas about 120 million years ago. The fossil is 4.7 inches long, and its shell and legs are immaculately preserved by the mud in the southern state of Chiapas, where it was found. It is dated as 120 million years old, about 20 million years older than previous lobster fossils. “This lobster that we found in Chiapas belongs to the genus that...

Whole Foods, the Austin, Texas-based natural foods grocery chain, decided to take a stand against the unethical and painful treatment of crustaceans. Last June the chain said they would no longer sell live lobsters and crabs.The Whole Foods ban would apply even to the crustacean capital of North America: The State of Maine. But today they rolled back that rule with some stipulations. Whole Foods decided to sell lobsters at its Portland, Maine store after finding a company that met its demands for how the lobsters should be treated. The lobsters will be kept in private compartments instead of being...

Its silky blond hair looks pretty seductive – until you see the very large claws sticking out at the end. The good news is that the weird beast couldn’t catch you if it wanted to – it is blind. The new lobster is in fact so strange that it has been given its own family and genus - Kiwa hirsuta. The 15-cm-long (6 inch) beast was found 2300 metres (7540 feet) under the South Pacific, 900 miles south of Easter Island. Many new species are plucked from the ocean each year, but scientists say it is unusual to find one...

Marine biologists have discovered a crustacean in the South Pacific that resembles a lobster or crab covered in what looks like silky fur. Kiwa hirsuta is so distinct from other species that scientists have created a new taxonomic family for it. A US-led team found the animal last year in waters 2,300m (7,540ft) deep at a site 1,500km (900 miles) south of Easter Island, an expert has claimed. Details appear in the journal of Paris' National Museum of Natural History. The diving expedition was organised by Robert Vrijenhoek of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California. The "Yeti Crab",...

Would you eat a blond, furry lobster? Never I only like redheads Only with extra butter

An international team of researchers has been trawling the ocean's depths for living treasure. Among them are three Singaporean crustacean experts, who in 10 days last month on a Filipino research vessel, unearthed several hundred species of prawns, crabs, lobsters and fish from the mud. The precious finds were dredged from depths of 100m to 2,300m in the Bohol and Sulu seas off the island of Panglao, in the southern Philippines. The area is famed for having a wide variety of species living in many diverse environments. There were blood red lobsters with sapphire eggs and deep-sea fish which exploded...

It is the ethical dilemma that for decades has troubled the rich and aspiring the world over: when you place a live lobster in a pot of boiling water, does it feel pain? Norwegian scientists were asked to investigate pain, discomfort and stress in invertebrates and claim now to have discovered that the answer is no. Their conclusion applies also to crabs and to live worms on a fish hook. None of these feel a thing. Which is good news for Norwegian fishermen at least. Their government was considering a ban on live worms as fish bait under revisions to...