Prehistoric Fish found in Russian Pond

[Setra]

http://englishrussia.com/?p=1633

Man that thing looks creepy

[BizzaroStormy]

Wow, A not-so-live Trilobite (might be spelling it wrong) Never thought id see one of those.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Holy frack!

Wow...

[Serpentine]

That's not a fish! Lies! Lies and slander! =O

[Setra]

Some people are saying it's a Horseshoe crab (http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=46897&rendTypeId=4)

Though there are differences.

[ocato]

Looks an awful lot like a horse shoe crab to my nonexpert eyes. I'd probably never have worried about the thing if I saw it.

EDIT: Of course, I've never seen a 5 foot horseshoe crab before, and also the tail is a lot bigger. I'm not saying it's a horseshoe crab, but it might be a relative.

[Serpentine]

You mean like the massive tail.
Yes. Some differences...
Any idea what terms to use to search for it elsewhere?

[Skippy]

You mean like the massive tail.
Yes. Some differences...
Any idea what terms to use to search for it elsewhere?

Facehugger, of course...

[Setra]

Facehugger, of course...
That's what a lot of other people are calling it..

[Skippy]

Well, it really looks like one... It sure would be creepy to find out one of those, and more if it tried to bit me...

[RTGoodman]

I've been searching various news sites and whatnot looking for more info, but as of now it looks like the website linked above the only place with the story. Of course, they're also the only website that had this story last year (http://englishrussia.com/?p=251) about another prehistoric beast supposedly found in Russia.

Not that I don't really hope that this thing is real, but I'd like some other evidence than some obscure website on 'teh intenetz.'

[Skippy]

I've been searching various news sites and whatnot looking for more info, but as of now it looks like the website linked above the only place with the story. Of course, they're also the only website that had this story last year (http://englishrussia.com/?p=251) about another prehistoric beast supposedly found in Russia.

Not that I don't really hope that this thing is real, but I'd like some other evidence than some obscure website on 'teh intenetz.'

That thing is a Skeksis, definitely.

[Semidi]

So that's what inspired Giger.

[nephtis]

That thing is a Skeksis, definitely.

*ggg* Fun aside, that other thing looks like a half-rotten whale or dolphin, a toothed whale.

And the one this thread was started looks really like it could be a relative of a horseshoe crab.

I love how they claim all creatures that are uncommon are 'pre-historic' - although I'd really feel better if there were other sources as well that told of this find.

[SDF]

Yeah, the picture screams horeshoe crab when I first saw it, the tail is much different, but I'm almost positive just looking at it's morphology that it is some kind of chelicerate.

[nephtis]

What for do I know people working in Zoological Institutes...? I asked a bit around and it seems this could be some species of Triops, a crustacean.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notostraca

[Serpentine]

Okay, lets have a proper look at this.

The "thing":
http://englishrussia.com/images/danger_fish/1.jpg

A trilobite:
http://files.turbosquid.com/Preview/Content_on_10_30_2006_04_41_45/trilobite.jpg15825181-99c0-4bfe-8a5e-82fc53f2457eLarge.jpg

A horseshoe crab:
http://rydberg.biology.colostate.edu/Dissections/Horseshoe%20crab/HScrab%20dorsal.jpg
http://rydberg.biology.colostate.edu/Dissections/Horseshoe%20crab/HScrab%20ventral.jpg

A triops:
http://www.museumonline.at/2000/bratislava/aqua/AquaSlowakisch/TriopsSite/Triops.JPG
http://es.geocities.com/estanqueskois/Triops2.jpg


A relatively large sort of triops seems plausible to me.
edit: Looking at it again, I do believe that's exactly what it is. Bravo nephtis.

[thubby]

that is apparently what you get when you combine a horseshoe crap and a xenomorph.

[SDF]

The morphology is similar in many ways to both, and morphology can be very misleading. In fact they are coming out with a completely different taxonomical hierarchy very soon completely reclassifying many phyla based on genetics. We probably won't be able to tell what it is for sure until mitochondrial gene sequencing has been done on it.

[rubakhin]

Whatever it is, looking at the underside - it's quite beautiful, you know.

[Icewalker]

Eeew. It's too bad they killed it. (attack of the horrible pun:) That could probably be a very important piece of...fishtory. You can kill me now.


(Also, Semidi, please see the spoiler inside my sig.)

[banjo1985]

Yeah, looking at the pictures it looks like a triops to me too, though a big specimen. Freaky looking bugger though aint it? I love the strange stuff you get in the depths of sea trenches and such-like..some of the most beautiful animals in the world are down there.

[Tor the Fallen]

It's definitely an Arthropod; most likely a Crustacean. The telson is all wrong for it to be a horseshoe crab. It also appears to lack the two long thingies (uropods?) hanging off its telson to be a Triops. The wiki says the uropods are diagnostic of Triops.

Actually, you can see in one of the pics it does, in fact, have two of the uropods.


The morphology is similar in many ways to both, and morphology can be very misleading. In fact they are coming out with a completely different taxonomical hierarchy very soon completely reclassifying many phyla based on genetics. We probably won't be able to tell what it is for sure until mitochondrial gene sequencing has been done on it.

mDNA? I thought they used mostly ss rRNA for that sort of thing.

[Emperor Ing]

:eek: Oh my gawd, an evolved trilobite.

That has to be one of the most unusual things ive ever seen.

Oh, and this is a face hugger (http://filmsirkus.no/shop/images/Neca/stfacehuggerHK.JPG)

[CrazedGoblin]

I've been searching various news sites and whatnot looking for more info, but as of now it looks like the website linked above the only place with the story. Of course, they're also the only website that had this story last year (http://englishrussia.com/?p=251) about another prehistoric beast supposedly found in Russia.

Not that I don't really hope that this thing is real, but I'd like some other evidence than some obscure website on 'teh intenetz.'

it is indeed very fishy (oof:smalltongue: ) that its the only site with it hehe

[Rykaj]

I sure do hope it's real, it looks awesome! And the story that some long undiscovered animal survived for ages on some underground river is awesome as well.

...But if that's true, how did it get food and oxygen? Does it even live on oxygen? And aren't creatures who live perpetually in the dark usually translucent or at least depigmented? Questions question! And I want to know more!

[Serpentine]

But if that's true, how did it get food and oxygen? Does it even live on oxygen? And aren't creatures who live perpetually in the dark usually translucent or at least depigmented? Questions question! And I want to know more!They're really only just seriously studying underground waterways here in Australia. Basically, they grab food whenever it happens to wash down and starve when it doesn't - with a low metabolic rate for the frequent times of famine. Oxygen is dissolved in the water, just like anywhere else. Interestingly, each aquifer is completely isolated from the next, so at every single one they find a whole new ecosystem with its own unique species.

[Tor the Fallen]

They're also cold blooded, which means they have very low oxygen demands, compared to us mammals.

[StickMan]

Wow, A not-so-live Trilobite (might be spelling it wrong) Never thought id see one of those.

My geology professor was Trilobite Expert, trust me that is not a trilobite.:smallamused:

[Winterwind]

Comparing these pictures, it really does look very much like a triops.

[Terumitsu]

We all need to think for a bit here... It was found in a Russian pond. Obviously it is mutated from the various toxic wastes in the water....

Joking aside, that is quite an interesting mophology. [/serious]A triops mated with the horshoe crab perhaps?[serious] Or better: A cousin of the pair? either way, an interesting find... if somewhat dubious as to the lack of additional information.

[RTGoodman]

And apparently you can own your very own Triops (http://mytriops.com/), or even a whole community.

And yeah, now that I look through the gallery on that website, this thing is looking like a triops of some sort. And actually, now that I think about it, there's absolutely nothing in the picture of our "prehistoric" specimen that would indicate size. Really, it might be a normal size (or just a little bigger), but the camera is zoomed in very close.

[SurlySeraph]

http://englishrussia.com/?p=1633

Man that thing looks creepy

<.<
>.>
I want one.

I'm going to have to throw my lot in with the people who say it's a triops. However, I think they're not being entirely truthful about the 5-foot length.


I've been searching various news sites and whatnot looking for more info, but as of now it looks like the website linked above the only place with the story. Of course, they're also the only website that had this story last year (http://englishrussia.com/?p=251) about another prehistoric beast supposedly found in Russia.

That thing looks a lot like a porpoise skeleton without fins. Or it could be the spine and rib cage of an unusually large horse. It's nothing crazy.

[nephtis]

...But if that's true, how did it get food and oxygen? Does it even live on oxygen?

The problem of oxygen is solved easily. You see those leaf-like things on the underside? Those are branchiopods (in fact the whole group triops belongs to is called branchiopoda which translates as gill-feet) and are used to get the oxygen the animal needs from the water.
So, problem solved.

And yes, those 'gills' are the main reason I think it's not a horseshoe crab.