The Dark Side of the Ocean: A newly discovered species of giant woodlouse has been named after him due to its resemblance to Star Wars villain Darth Vader. The deep-sea isopod of the genus Bathynomus was given the species name vaderi.
As a research team reports in the magazine “ZooKeys”, the name was inspired by the appearance of her head, which reportedly resembles Darth Vader’s helmet.
Bathynomus vaderi grows to about 30 centimeters in length and weighs over a kilogram. So far, the species has only been found in Vietnamese waters near the Spratly Islands. However, researchers assume that the animals also occur in other parts of the South China Sea.
Expensive delicacy
Giant woodlice – including B. vaderi – have become an expensive delicacy in Vietnam in recent years. The special sea creatures are caught commercially and sold at fish markets. Some people even claim they taste better than lobster.
The fact that a species as large as B. vaderi remained undiscovered for so long shows how little is known about the deep sea, the study said. There is an urgent need for better research into the biological diversity of the deep sea as humans increasingly seek to use this habitat for fishing, oil and gas extraction and even mineral extraction. The first step in protecting the deep sea is knowing what lives there.
Source: Krone
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