Ewwwwwww ...
Creepy foot-long sea cockroach found on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico
That cockroach hiding underneath your refrigerator has nothing on this giant, 14-legged beast that appears capable of devouring a small child.
The purplish giant isopod, or Bathynomus giganteus, was found swimming near the floor of the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday by the Okeanos Explorer during deep-sea research it’s conducting from Nov. 29 through Dec. 21. The Okeanos Explorer is a ship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“During the first dive of the expedition, we saw this giant deepsea isopod, Bathynomus giganteus. While we often see these giant underwater ‘pill bugs’ resting on the seafloor, we don’t always get to see them swim, so seeing this isopod, which measured nearly 30 centimeters (almost one foot)
long, come in for a landing was exciting,” the researchers with the Okeanos Explorer wrote online.
The giant crustacean is similar in appearance to pillbugs, J.D. Knight of Sea and Sky wrote on his site.
The size of the isopod is caused by the deep-sea gigantism phenomenon. The freakish size of these creatures has to do with the “geographic latitude and depth of crustaceans habitat (correlating mainly with lower temperatures) leads to an increased cell size, life span of the animal, and, as a result, an increase in the body size,” according to the 2001 journal article “Bergmann’s Principle and Deep-Water Gigantism in Marine Crustaceans.”
“Giant isopods are not usually fished commercially, although some can be found in the occasional ocean side restaurant in northern Taiwan, where they are boiled and served with rice,” Knight added on his site. “The giant isopod can grow to a length of over 16 inches, which makes it one of the largest members of the crustacean family.”