New crustacean discovered in California looks like an alien monster

Will you say that the animal you saw in the image that opens this story doesn't look like a monster out of a science fiction movie? Newly discovered in California, the above alien belongs to a new species of crustacean identified by a Spanish researcher at the University of Seville.

According to the live science website, the animal was found in a cave on Santa Catalina Island 30 meters deep and, despite its frightening appearance, males - which are slightly larger than females - do not exceed 3.3 millimeters in length. Named for Liropus minusculus, the small crustacean has no carapace and is usually attached to rocks and plants, feeding on algae and larvae brought by sea currents.

Although tiny, we cannot deny that the pet - with its transparent body and sinister claws - has the potential to cause beautiful nightmares. According to the researcher who identified the animal, there are eight other known species of this crustacean in the world, and this finding now, besides being the smallest of all, is the first to be found in the northwest Pacific Ocean.