Humanity has little knowledge of the depths of the ocean. Little evidence that often emerges for this is the fact that humanity has done a better job mapping the surface of Mars than at the bottom of the ocean. The creatures we find weeping in the aquatic monster often amaze even the most avid explorers with their unique features and strange behavior.
A recent trip off the coast of Java discovered a new isopod species that was amazing for its size and resembled Darth Vader.
The depths of the ocean are home to many creatures that some find unnatural.
Bathynomus raksasa sample (left) next to a closely related supergiant isopod, B. giganteus (right)
Sidabalok CM, Wong HP-S, Ng PKL (ZooKeys 2020)
According to LiveScience, the genus Bathynomus is sometimes referred to as the “Darth Vader of the Seas” because the rock barks are shaped like the character’s menacing helmet. Considered as Bathynomus raksasa (“raksasa” means “giant” in Indonesia), this cockroach-like creature can grow to over 30 cm (12 inches). It is one of several known species of giant marine isopod. Like the other members of his order, he has complex eyes, seven body parts, two pairs of antennae, and four sets of jaws. The incredible size of this species is likely to be the result of deep-sea gigantism. This is the tendency for creatures living in deeper parts of the ocean to be much larger than closely related species living in shallower waters. B. raksasa makes its home between 950 and 1,260 meters (3,117 and 4,134 feet) below sea level. Probably appropriate for a creature that is so eager to look at, that is the lower parts of what is commonly known as The Twilight Zone, named for the lack of light available at such depths. deep. It’s not the only large isopod, far from it. Other species of isopod that go to sea can be up to 50 cm long (20 inches) and also appear to have emerged from nightmares. These are the unusual ones, though. Most of the time, isopods live at much more reasonable sizes. This new species was discovered in ZooKeys. The rest of the samples from the trip are still being analyzed. The full report will be published shortly.
Check out this post on InstagramDuring a trip, there are some animals that you will find unexpected, and there are others that you hope to find. One of the animals we hoped to find was a deep sea cockroach called Darth Vader Isopod. The staff on our tour team could not contain the excitement when they last saw one, keeping it triumphant in the air! # SJADES2018
What is the benefit of this discovery for science? And is it as bad as it looks?
The discovery of a new species is always a reason for celebration in zoology. This is the discovery of an animal that lives in the depths of the sea, one of the smallest areas humans can find is the icing on the cake.
Helen Wong of the National University of Singapore, who co-authored the description of the species, explained the importance of the discovery:
“The identification of this new species is an indication of how little we know about the oceans. There is certainly more for us to study in terms of biodiversity in the deep seas of our region.”
The animal’s visual appearance to Darth Vader is due to its complex eyes and strange shape of its head. However, with its location, the base of the remote oceans, it may be associated with all sorts of Elder Things and Great Old Ones.