Scientists have discovered the first known venomous crustacean, which lives in underwater caves in the Caribbean, Canary Islands, and Western Australia.
Crustaceans are also known as arthropods, and krill, shrimp, lobsters, waterfleas, and crabs fall into this category. Crustaceans have their skeletons on the outside of their body to give them extra protection.
The "remipede" looks a lot like a centipede and is blind. It's venom is rich with toxins and has paralyzing agent, just like rattlesnake venom. The venom breaks down body tissues and and then the remipede is able to suck out its meal from its prey!
"The spider-like feeding technique of the remipede is unique among crustaceans. This venom is clearly a great adaptation for these blind cave-dwellers that live in nutrient-poor underwater caves," said Ronald Jenner, a zoologist at London's Natural History Museum.
Bjoern von Reumont of the Natural History Museum said, "This is the first time we have seen venom being used in crustaceans and the study adds a new major animal group to the roster of known venomous animals."
"While they can be as varied as tiny waterfleas, krill, crabs, and barnacles, not one of the approximately 70,000 described species of crustaceans was known, until now, to be venomous."
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