Scientists have discovered a new species in the eastern Indian Ocean (near Indonesia) called ‘Bathynomus raksasa’, a ‘supergiant’ Bathynomus, and which has since been described as the “cockroach of the sea”.
About:
The Bathynomus raksasa is a giant isopod in the genus Bathynomus.
The giant isopods are distantly related to crabs, lobsters, and shrimps (which belong to the order of decapods), and are found in the cold depths of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
The “cockroach of the sea” has 14 legs. It measures around 50 centimetres (1.6 feet) in length, which is big for isopods, which normally do not grow beyond 33 cm (just over a foot). Isopods that reach 50 cm are referred to as supergiant’s.
The only member of the isopod species that exceeds the raksasa in size is the Bathynomus giganteus, which is commonly found in the deep waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.
Significance of discovery: It is the first 'supergiant' isopod species to be discovered in the eastern Indian Ocean. The discovery takes the number of known giant isopods to 20.
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