{"id":16645,"date":"2022-08-10T05:01:27","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T03:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=125717"},"modified":"2022-08-10T05:14:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T03:14:10","slug":"new-species-of-deep-sea-isopod-the-size-of-an-ipad-discovered-in-gulf-of-mexico","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/new-species-of-deep-sea-isopod-the-size-of-an-ipad-discovered-in-gulf-of-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"New species of deep-sea isopod the size of an iPad discovered in Gulf of Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Alice Lipscombe-Southwell\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 10 August 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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No, it\u2019s not a facehugger from Alien<\/em>, it\u2019s a new species of deep-sea isopod that has been discovered in the Gulf of Mexico<\/a> by a group of Taiwanese, Japanese and Australian researchers.<\/p>\n

Isopods, with their segmented bodies and seven pairs of limbs, are an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods vary hugely in size, from tiny species measuring less than a millimetre, to the huge individuals lurking in the deep ocean.<\/p>\n

At about 26 centimetres in length, this new species of giant isopod is around 2,500 per cent bigger than a woodlouse. But don\u2019t worry, just like the little invertebrates that live under rocks and leaves in your garden, these deep-sea animals are completely harmless.<\/p>\n

It was originally thought to be a type of Bathynomus giganteus<\/em>, which is one of the largest of the deep-sea isopods, but on closer inspection was found to have a number of unique features. The scientists have named the new species Bathynomus<\/em> yucatanensis<\/em>. The name is taken from the Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula in Mexico, which is the closest landmass to where the individual was found.<\/p>\n

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Newly discovered deep-sea isopod \u00a9 Dr Ming-Chih Huang, Journal Of Natural History<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u201cCompared to B. giganteus<\/em>, B. yucatanensis<\/em> has more slender body proportions and is shorter in total length \u2026 and the pereopods [thoracic limbs] are more slender,\u201d the researchers said.<\/p>\n

The creamy yellow colour of its exoskeleton further distinguished this new deep-sea isopod from its relatives, which are greyish in colour.<\/p>\n

There are around 20 species of Bathynomus<\/em> isopods, which live at the bottom of the ocean. This latest specimen was collected from a baited trap that had been placed at a depth of 600 to 800 metres in 2017. Since then, it has been held at the Enoshima Aquarium in Japan, and was assumed to be an individual of B. giganteus<\/em>, until this latest research was carried out.<\/p>\n

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B. giganteus<\/em>, a close relative of the newly discovered species \u00a9 DPA Picture Alliance Archive\/Alamy Stock Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

To make sure that they really were different species, the scientists conducted a genetic analysis that compared the two animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the different sequences of the two genes \u2013 COI and 16S rRNA \u2013 coupled with differences in morphology, we identified it as a new species,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The enormous size of the isopods is due to a phenomenon called \u2018deep-sea gigantism\u2019, where animals inhabiting the deep ocean end up much larger than their relatives closer to the surface. Giant squid<\/a> and Japanese spider crabs are other examples of deep-sea gigantism.<\/p>\n