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Article: Lobster-lip critter. (Symbion pandora)(includes related information on the new species)
- Article from:
- Science World
- Article date:
- March 8, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Scientists in Denmark have discovered a wacky new species unlike any other living thing. Its surprising habitat: the lip of a lobster.
Like lobsters--and humans--the tiny critter belongs to the animal kingdom, the broadest group in which scientists classify (categorize) living things. But the new species didn't fit in with any of the other subgroups, or phyla, of animals, like Chordata (animals with backbones), Arthropoda (spiders, insects, and crustaceans), and Porifera (sponges).
The most unique characteristic of the new critter is that it reproduces in two ways (instead of one). Sometimes it mates with other individuals of its kind to produce offspring. But ...