Biologists have found in the ice in the Arctic "little monster" - a strange looking animal that resembles an alien from space.
When we say "monster," we subconsciously mean a huge, terrifying monster. However, size is not at all the main criterion for monstrosity. Back in the 19th century, James Dwight Dana first described a strange species of plankton, not similar to its relatives. He named it Monstrilla, "the little monster," a name that matches the appearance of the sea creatures. Scientists of past centuries were famous for their love for catchy and exotic names, which to this day gives botany and zoology a fair amount of flavor.
In 2014, an expedition to the Arctic continued Dwight's work and discovered a completely new species of tiny monsters due to the fact that some of his representatives were frozen into the ice. The researchers dubbed the species Monstrillopsis planifrons, meaning "the little flat-headed monster." Studies like this show once again that the Arctic and Antarctica are full of mysteries that await their discoverers.
The lead author of the study, Aureli Delaforgue, notes in an article on the ZooKeys portal that as research and analysis of the biomes of various regional zones of the Arctic advances, the number of new species of animals and plants will only increase. Despite the fact that plankton is barely visible to the human eye, in fact it is one of the most important types of marine life, which directly affects the ecosystem of the entire planet.
M. planifrons is a strange miniature crustacean only a few millimeters long, reminiscent of a one-eyed, eight-legged shrimp with fluffy "antennae". In addition, the "little monster" can be seen an additional pair of limbs, resembling a reduced copy of the limbs of an otter, as well as an unusual type of genitals. The discovery was successful, because it is in May-June that adults can be observed in all their glory. The rest of the time they are either in the larval stage, or are already actively parasitizing on molluscs.