Biologists Name Newly-Discovered Supergiant ‘Sea Cockroach’ Isopod After Darth Vader
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The Bathynomus raksasa is the largest known “supergiant” isopod species in the world.
If you are a science news enthusiast or a fan of the video game Animal Crossing, you’re probably already familiar with the alien-like “sea cockroach” that scientists call the giant isopod or Bathynomus giganteus.
Giant isopods are famous for their extra-terrestrial appearance and their large size, with the average sea creature measuring between 7.5 and 14.2 inches long. But there are even bigger creatures that are known as the supergiant isopods.
Scientists have just found the biggest of these species yet with an average length of 13 inches, with some specimens reaching 20 inches in size. Biologists have nicknamed the new supergiant species “Darth Vader isopod,” a reference to its space suit-like body that vaguely resembles the Star Wars villain.
The “Darth Vader” supergiant isopod was found by an international team of researchers that included scientists from the LKCNHM, the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) in Singapore, and the Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in Indonesia.
The specimens — one male and one female — were fished out from the depths of the Indian Ocean off the coast of Southern Java in Indonesia back in 2018. The species was formally named Bathynomus raksasa which comes from the Indonesian word “rakasa” or “giant.”
The B. raksasa was discovered at a depth of between 3,000 and 4,100 feet. According to the study, which was published in the journal Zookeys, researchers were able to identify the specimens as an entirely new species due to the shape of their heads and some of their bodily features, which appeared different than other known species of isopods.
It’s the first new giant isopod species discovered by scientists in more than a decade, making it one of the most exciting — albeit one of the most terrifying — science news articles of this year.
