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For nearly two century , scientists have pulled so - called " demon larva " from the guts of fish and wondered what these thick - bodied creatures looked like as grown - ups . Now one biologist believes he has lastly matched the larva with its adult counterpart .
" It ’s very exciting to have solved a nigh 200 - year - old conundrum , " Keith Crandall , a biological science prof at George Washington University , said in a statement .
For more than 180 years, scientists had pulled these “monster” larvae from the guts of fish, wondering they looked like as grown-ups. Turns out, they are the baby version of a deep-sea shrimp. [More amazing shrimp photos]
pull in from familial evidence , Crandall reported in the journal Ecology and Evolution this month that the larva , Cerataspis monstrosa , is actuallya babe versionof the deep - weewee aristeid shrimp known asPlesiopenaeus armatus .
stimulate this match - up between the babe and adult form was not as easy as findinga larger version of the larva . In fact , the two could n’t bet more dissimilar , the research worker say . C. monstrosahas a thick body covered in armour with " exceptional horn ornamentation , " the researchers write . Yellowfin and blackfin tuna and dolphins prefer this " grotesque and misshapen beast , " as the larva was call , for prey — and it was in these predators ' gut contents that scientist had encounter the monster larva .
Its adult form , Plesiopenaeus , which calls the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean home , look more like a lobster . [ Image Gallery : Magnificent Shrimp Photos ]
The larvaCerataspis monstrosa(left) is the baby version of the shrimpPlesiopenaeus armatus(right), researchers reported Aug. 27, 2012.
Scientists begin to surmise a nexus between the two in the 19th century .
" Because former discipline suggested an affinity betweenCerataspisand penaeoid shrimp , and more specifically the family line Aristeidae , we sample heavy within these groups , " Crandall explained . His lab had been collecting crustacean desoxyribonucleic acid information for several years , providing a database to equate theCerataspisDNA and make the radio link . They found a 99.96 pct equal between the sequences of five gene for both organism .
