Lord of Rings character gives its name to ...

A new arachnid has been named Smeagol after the Lord of the Rings character.

The highly specialised cave harvestman from Brazil is a new species of the order opiliones, officially known as Iandumoema smeagol.

The Smeagols are both subterranean, but the creepy crawly version is blind, having evolved to have no eyes. The study explains the naming process for the newly-identified creature: “The specific epithet refers to the hobbit named Smeagol, created by JRR Tolkien, being the original name of Gollum — the dweller of the caves located below the Misty Mountains of Middle-earth of the Lord of the Rings book.”

Living underground has stripped the creature of much of its pigmentation, giving it a yellow tint, but its choice of location has restricted its expansion so much that boffins fear it may be at risk from extinction.

Woman wrestles 800-pound gator

An 800-pound alligator has a new home — and a stylish new animal-print muzzle — after being captured outside a Texas hair salon.

The alligator, which is blind in one eye, measures more than 12 feet long and is estimated to be 50 years old, was captured last week in a Sugar Land parking lot by Christy Krobroth, a full-time dental hygienist licensed as an alligator trapper by the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.

Video taken from the capture shows Krobroth and a police officer struggling to get the reptile tied up. Krobroth was eventually able to tape up the gator’s limbs and his mouth — which was covered with a small animal-print blanket as a makeshift muzzle.

Krobroth said the alligator will join the breeding programme at the Janik Alligators sanctuary in El Campo.

Metal detector hunter finds £1.3 million coin

Paul Coleman found a lead basket containing the 5,248 Anglo-Saxon silver pennies with his metal detector. And this huge hoard of silver coins dating back 1,000 years has been declared an official treasure trove. Coroner Richard Hulett ruled the “exceptional” find was treasure, meaning that it goes to the Crown. However, Buckinghamshire County Museum in Aylesbury is set to bid for the coins. The value will be decided in January and Mr Coleman and the landowner can expect to receive a reward.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 9th, 2015