Crazy New Animals in the News

I am fascinated by nature, and particularly the variety of wildlife in this great big world of ours.
So when I hear about new ones, my ears and eyes perk up, and I like to get a little more info on them.

And I'm not talking about adorable dogs and cats on TV shows. Lassie, this isn't about you.

I'm curious about more exotic ones, or at least not-so-common in nature (double-meaning!).

Today I have one from far away and two that are a lot closer to home.

Purple crabs

The cute, little 1-2 inch crabs were discovered in the Philippines recently, along with three other (less-vibrant) species of crab. The coloration is apparently for mating and recognizing others of the same species. I didn't know before that crab are discriminatory, but that's what the scientist cited in the article stated. Either way, I think it's awesome how bright that purple is!

Armored catfish

These guys are invading South Florida, and the biggest problem they're causing is erosion. They burrow holes to deposit their eggs, and those holes can then collapse if a person is walking near the shore. While most catfish are good for fishermen, these don't bite on fishing hooks with bait, so pretty much they have to be caught by "nets or even spears". Yes, I said spears. So even though they look super-cool, they aren't worth having around due to the hassle and problems they're creating.

Warning: if you get squeamish about gross fish or get scared easily about going into bodies of water, then I recommend you stop reading this post now. Why? Because the next creature is freaky-looking.

Snakehead fish

Don't say I didn't warn you. He's an ugly bugger, ain't he?! Snakehead fish are messing up the Maryland aquatic ecosystem, such that anglers can earn $200 for catching them. They have no natural predators in the region, and they can survive for up to 4 days on land. Plus, they're hard enough to catch that some fishermen have resorted to using guns. Guns! No wonder some call them the "fish from hell".

What do you think of these creatures?
Know of any other interesting animals to pop up recently in the news?