Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers

In its April, 1995 issue Discover Magazine announced that Dr. Aprile Pazzo, a noted wildlife biologist, had found a fascinating new Antarctic species: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These bizarre creatures were each about half a foot long, very light, and had a bony plate attached to their head that could become burning hot, allowing them to bore tunnels through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins. Packs of them would melt the ice beneath a penguin causing it to sink into the slush, at which point the borers would surround the hapless creature and consume it.

Dr. Pazzo discovered the borers by chance as a result of their predatory nature. While studying a group of penguins, she noticed one frightened member of the group rapidly sinking into the ice. When she pulled the hapless creature out of the fast-growing slush pool that surrounded it, she found a host of small creatures attached to it. These creatures turned out to be the Hotheaded Ice Borers.

After careful research of this fascinating new species, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying.

Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had ever received for any other article.


References:
  • "Hotheads," Discover, April 1, 1995





Hotheaded Naked Ice Borer
A Hotheaded Naked Ice Borer