Slashdot Mirror
Yeti Crab Cultivates Bacteria On Claw, Then Eats Them
Pierre Bezukhov writes with some interesting news from the deep as reported in Nature: "In the deep ocean off the coast of Costa Rica, scientists have found a species of crab that cultivates gardens of bacteria on its claws, then eats them. ... The bristles that cover the crab's claws and body are coated in gardens of symbiotic bacteria, which derive energy from the inorganic gases of the seeps. The crab eats the bacteria, using comb-like mouthparts to harvest them from its bristles. ... [Scientists believe] the crab waves its claws to actively farm its bacterial gardens: movements stir up the water around the bacteria, ensuring that fresh supplies of oxygen and sulphide wash over them and helping them to grow."
ROFLMAO
On another forum, few years ago, some dude got all spiritual, telling us that he felt so close to God and nature, and yada yada yada, because he hadn't eaten meat in a long long time.
I replied in the same vein. I, however, felt all spiritual, and close to God and nature and yada yada yada because I had harvested my own meat, directly from the bounty of nature. That kinda ruined his holier-than-thou post. I felt soooooo bad about it - NOT!
As for those bacteria - fek 'em. If they don't want to be prey in the next lifetime, they better be really good prey in this lifetime. When they get enough karma, then they can go around eating the crabs, or whatever it is they would like to eat.
(Now, I'm wondering. Maybe that's why we have so many karma whores in slashdot? They hope to come back to eat - someone - in the next life?)
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