iPad-Sized Deep-Sea Isopods Found in Gulf of Mexico

A team of Taiwanese, Japanese, and Australian researchers uncovered a new iPad-sized deep-sea isopod species in the Gulf of Mexico.

This group of football-sized isopods has been cruising the bottom for 200 or 300 million years, even during the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Bathynomus giganteus, one of the most giant living species yet (per Science Alert), may be found at depths of more than 2,500 meters (8,200 feet).

It appears that it may be a hybrid of two species because it was initially discovered off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in 1879.

Giant Deep-Sea Isopods Found in Mexico

According to Newsweek, the isopod, which is more than 10 inches long (almost the exact size of an iPad), is 25 times larger than its smaller cousin.

It was discovered residing more than 2,500 feet under the water off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The place where an asteroid struck 66 million years ago wiped out the dinosaurs.

"Compared to B. giganteus, B. yucatanensis has more slender body proportions and is shorter in total length ... and the pereopods [thoracic limbs] are more slender," the researchers said in a BBC's Science Focus report.

The strange creature illustrates ocean gigantism and has a striking creamy-yellow shell. Compared to their cousins in shallower seas or on land, several organisms that live in the deep tend to grow considerably larger.

Most isopod species have a length of less than 10 mm (0.4 inches). The 20 species of the "supergiant" Bathynomus genus increase in size by a factor of more than 30.

Since Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, these species are the most well-known aquatic crustaceans because of their online success.

The benthic zone, the deepest part of the ocean, is rarely investigated and is home to the strange and ape-like group.

Their relatives include woodlice, pillbugs, and roly-polys, all of which feed on decaying materials and are well known to anybody who has picked up a rock or worked in the garden. They also include crabs, shrimp, and lobsters.

Except for their remarkable size, they resemble one other pretty closely. 1 foot 8 inches long is the most extended reach. Despite their frightening appearance, they are perfectly safe for people.

Finding The Isopods

The study used two Bathynomus specimens from a Japanese aquarium: B. giganteus and an unnamed species.

The scientists performed a molecular genetic comparison of B. giganteus and B. yucatanensis to validate that B. yucatanensis was a unique species of Bathynomus. Luckily, they discovered that the two genes had different sequences in addition to their distinctive morphological characteristics.

"Due to the different sequences of the two genes (COI and 16S rRNA), coupled with differences in morphology, we identified it [B. yucatanensis] as a new species," researchers said per MSN News.

The researchers stated that it is crucial to be aware of which Bathynomus species are being taken since some of them are targeted by deep-sea trawl fisheries.

Check out more news and information on Ocean in Science Times.