NEW CAPTION: "You must be at least this deadly to eat the people in this boat."
Posted on 03/07/2006 4:35:43 PM PST by wjersey
PARIS
Divers have discovered a new crustacean in the South Pacific that resembles a lobster and is covered with what looks like silky, blonde fur, French researchers said Tuesday.
Scientists said the animal, which they named Kiwa hirsuta, was so distinct from other species that they created a new genus and new family for it.
A team of American-led divers found the animal in waters 7,540 feet deep at a site 900 miles south of Easter Island last year, according to Michel Segonzac of the French Institute for Sea Exploration, or IFREMER.
The new crustacean is described in the journal of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. The animal is white and 5.9 inches long, about the size of a salad plate.
In what Segonzac described as a "surprising characteristic," the animal's pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands. The diving expedition was organized by Robert Vrijenhoek of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.
NEW CAPTION: "You must be at least this deadly to eat the people in this boat."
Just think of the first people who figured out that you first have to boil them alive.
Back when "Jaws" was released I was running deep sea charters out of Panama City. Every time dolphins would appear anywhere near the boat, the "fishermen" would holler "Jaws" and "Shark".
I was worried, at the time, that some dolphin would end up being killed by idiots that thought they were shark.
(For the record, both often project a dorsal fin above water. With sharks, the top part of the tail (caudal) fin show above water and the shark movement is a more snakelike side-to-side movement. Dolphins dorsals break the surface in a series of ups and downs. Their tail propulsion operates in the vertical...sharks, horizontal)
What actually happened was "big game fishermen"(also known as big buck$ fishermen) decided that it would be really macho to go out and kill a lot of sharks and show off the pictures.
It goes unreported that there remains a shortage of shark in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. They reproduce slowly and they are an absolutely vital link in many food chains. They are the garbage collectors/recyclers of the sea. Picture what would happen in a typical city if there were a garbage-collector strike and it just piled up.I think they deserve to earn a living.
Hug a shark today.
Paris Hilton in 20 years?
Yes, I'm sure of that. There's an interesting (to me) series on the Food Channel about a guy who goes around the world sampling some of those really weird ones. He recently took viewers on a tour of Thai insect cuisine featuring tables groaning under the weight of deep-fried thingies with many legs.
I used to live near Pismo Beach, CA and a candymaker there came up with a transparent lollipop in a variety of flavors (lime, cherry, etc.) with some kind of big worm in the middle. It reminded me of the Mexican tequila(?) bottles with a worm in them. Anyhow the lollies have become world-famous and are a huge seller.
Does anyone else recall the horrible thing on TV 15-20 years ago concerning a special little bird (endangered as I remember) that is a French delicacy? (To the government's credit, catching and eating the bird is illegal). It's plucked and sauteed alive, then popped whole into the mouth, feet and all, still living. The diners wear big bibs and they get extra points for spewing blood out of their mouths.
Some Ukranian friends used to lick their lips in anticipation of chicken-foot soup! Regular old chicken feet (the yellow part) are cleaned very thoroughly and are used as a gelatinous soup base. And in my own Southern heritage I've heard tales of souse/head cheese, both involving a pig's head. There's a dandy recipe HERE
The ortolan.
"A team of American-led divers found the animal in waters 7,540 feet deep"
I think that's a typo.
7540 feet deep in Alvin maybe.
Blast-ended Skrute?
I printed out that recipe and gave it to my mother-in-law. She was glad for the update, especially the part about having to cook it.
I've always wondered about the first person to eat a snail.
Tastes like pencil erasers in a white wine sauce.
The mealworm tastes far better than the tequilla flavored candy.
Does anyone else recall the horrible thing on TV 15-20 years ago concerning a special little bird (endangered as I remember) that is a French delicacy? (To the government's credit, catching and eating the bird is illegal). It's plucked and sauteed alive, then popped whole into the mouth, feet and all, still living. The diners wear big bibs and they get extra points for spewing blood out of their mouths.
Ortolan.
Hehe this story reminds me of this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1585939/posts
Any recipes?
Looks to me like something they combed out of Paris Hilton's...hair.
OK, who will be the first to turn it into sushi.
Does it light up? If it does it isn't really new. I saw it in 1967 behind the bar at Kahuna's.
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