Behold the Atomic Mutant!!!!!

[featherynscale]

Some of you may remember the dread tale of the Atomic Mutant Insect - Horror From Another Dimension. As it turns out, this Thing was not the only Thing of its kind. They also have them in New Mexico, where kittenpants discovered a deceased specimen and photographed it for scientific purposes. So take a look (If You Dare!) and see if you know what the hell this thing is.

(Comments now fortified with Entomological Smackdown!)

Behold the Horror:

Comments

In the Order of silverfish, to be more specific

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Sort of a bigger, badder cousin (still researching)

Order Thysanura

Thysanura are usually found in moist locations around houses or out-of-doors under stones, bark and boards. They are fast run rapidly and hide in cracks and crevices. Occasionally they damage book bindings, curtains, wallpaper, etc. Silverfish can be a nuisance in houses. They are secretive and usually are most active at night.

Thysanura are wingless insects with flattened elongate bodies, long antennae and usually with three, long, tail like appendages. Mouth parts are formed for chewing. Metamorphosis is minimal (young resemble adults except for size). They are up to 3/8 inches long.

Insects in this order include silverfish and bristletail, among others.

Re: In the Order of silverfish, to be more specific

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

These are certainly more than 3/8" long. Also, they've got an even number of back "legs" - one pair is long and grasshopperish, and the rest are shorter and more like normal bug legs. It's hard to see that in this pic.

But mostly it's the number of legs that bothers me.

Re: In the Order of silverfish, to be more specific

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

http://www.myrmecos.net/insects/apterygota.html

Hope this link comes through. My vote is for Jumping Bristletail, which is sort of disturbing. An ancient and terrible bug...

A Google search turns up lots of information, but none of the sources say it'll get as huge as you all reported. However, one of them said they tend to thrive in damp basements. Yay.

Sorry

[kittenpants.livejournal.com]

Not even close, man. This thing has six pairs of front legs. Not three pairs with tiny pseudopod appendages in between. Ergo, it cannot be classified as an insect, so it is *not* of the Order Thysanura. The jumping bristletail is the wrong shape, color, and doesn't have nearly enough legs or appendages.

If you took a rare breed of New Zealand centipede, and removed all of the legs after the first six pairs and super-glued them to the end of the abdomen, you'd be getting closer.

Zoom In -- check out those legs!

[kittenpants.livejournal.com]

Here's a link to a larger photograph of the Atomic Mutant Bug.