A colossal, creamy-yellow isopod relative that bears a vague resemblance to Darth Vader has been discovered deep beneath the ocean’s surface in the Gulf of Mexico, a new study shows.
At over 10 inches (26 centimeters) long, the creature is 2,500% larger than standard hare or woodlice (Oniscus asellus) found when chewing on decay matter in most people’s backyards. This blonde behemoth is the youngest member of a group of about 20 deep-sea crustaceans in the genus bathynomus living in the benthic zone, the deepest parts of the ocean, according to a expression (opens in new tab).
bathynomus Species are sometimes referred to as “Darth Vader of the Seas (opens in new tab),” perhaps because their heads bear resemblances to the “Star Wars” character’s helmet, Live Science previously reported. If that’s the case, then “Vanilla Vader” might be an apt name for this pale newcomer to the genre.
Researchers identified and named the species from a single specimen caught off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula in 2017 Bathynomus yucatanensis by region. bathynomus Members look similar, and researchers initially assumed the individual was a known species named B. giganteusone of two previously identified species to inhabit the gulf until genetic analysis revealed it was an unknown species sharing the same waters.
“The ecological diversity of the Gulf of Mexico may be more complex than [previously] thoughts,” the study’s lead author, Huang Ming-Chih, an associate professor at the National University of Tainan in Taiwan, told Live Science in an email.
Related: Massive ‘Darth Vader’ sea bug pulled from waters near Indonesia
bathynomus Species are isopods, an order of crustaceans that includes isopods. deep ocean cleanup, bathynomus Species are rarely seen by humans. The specimen from the Gulf of Mexico is used for identification B. yucatanensis came out of a baited cage trap located about 2,000 to 2,600 feet (600 to 800 meters) below sea level.
The Enoshima Aquarium in Japan kept the specimen assuming it was B. giganteus until Huang received it as part of research investigations bathynomus. Huang analyzed the specimens DNS and found that it differed from B. giganteus in the sequence of two genes — cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and 16S rRNA. A second specimen from the aquarium subjected to the same analysis gave a match for B. giganteusfurther suggesting that the first specimen was something else.
“I was skeptical,” Huang said. “Bought only since Enoshima Aquarium in Japan B. giganteusI always thought B. giganteus.” Huang examined the morphology of the specimen with two other experts. They found that the specimen with different genes was shorter and slimmer than B. giganteus, with longer antennae and a body shape that more closely resembled an inverted triangle. In addition, the newly identified species was distinguished from its grayer cousins by its creamy yellow coloration. From these morphological differences and genetic analysis, the team concluded that it was a newly discovered species.
Both species have the same number of spines at the ends of their bodies, called Pleotelson’s spines, which the researchers suspect reflect age and maturity. The researchers found that this similarity makes it easier to misidentify B. yucatanensis.
Given that B. yucatanensis is something like that B. giganteusit’s likely that the two share a common ancestor, the researchers wrote in the study.
The study was published online on Wednesday (10 August). Journal of Natural History (opens in new tab).
Originally published on Live Science.
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