A challenge for the speculative exobiology experts out there

I decided to NOT present another chapter on spidrids this time, seeing as how I presented two posts in a row on that subject already. There is definitely more to say on spidrids, and I will do so, but the next spidrid post will be better if I take more time. Another argument to step away from all those little and not-so-little spidrids scurrying around my feet is that I found myself thinking "Earth crab locomotion really resembles Furahan spidrid walks more than I expected". When you start taking fictional animals as the yardstick against which Earth animals are compared, it is perhaps time to tone the level of 'biogeekery' down a bit. Well, not that much, really, as instead of a post on spidrid gaits I will present you with a question challenging your level of expertise in this particular field.

Click to enlarge

What's the animal you see here? Mind you, I altered the image a bit to make it slightly more difficult. I will reveal the source in a week. The prize is a virtual plaque with your achievement on it on the wall of the Virtual Main Hall of the Institute of Furahan Biology. That's something, isn't it?   

Furaha on io9

A few days ago this blog was mentioned on io9, under the heading Mad Science. The article was entitled "An intensive, multi-year study of realistic alien life". There was a definite spike in the number of people who visited my sites afterwards. Welcome new readers!

I was a bit doubtful about the 'Mad Scientist' bit, but what can I say? There is some truth in it; after all, I have been known to work my way through texts on the optical limits of compound eyes, to see whether I could somehow get around the conventional thought that such eyes would have to have a diameter of one meter to obtain a resolution as good as the human one. Is that geeky? I now think that computer science might hold an answer, and if you want me to write a post on that subject, you know what you are...

All right, I admit it: such activities might conceivably be considered geeky by some. In fact, according to Annalee Newitz, who wrote the post in question, my blog is "a treasure trove of biogeekery". Now that is a word to remember. Annalee must be a related soul, as she wrote: "This kind of intense, charmingly maniacal worldbuilding warms the screaming void at the center of my nerdy heart." Well, Annalee, it's nice to be appreciated, and please come again if you need rewarming!