Supergiant ‘Darth Vader’ Bug Discovered in South China Sea

Scientists have discovered a huge sea bug – a “supergiant” over a foot long weighing more than two pounds. Its head resembles the helmet worn by Darth Vader in Star Wars, so the biologists naturally named the new species “vaderi.”

The scientists were made aware of the big bug when they were shown some bycatch netted by local fishermen near the Spratly Islands. Among the large isopods – a kind of crustacean – were some known critters from the genus Bathynomus, but including a few specimens that had distinct physical features marking them as a new species. 

Unlike its cousins, Bathynomus vaderii has a pronounced depression in the hip bone and a bony ridge protruding from the shoulder. Not to mention they look like Darth Vader.

The Vader bug is not the largest isopod, that would be B. jamesi, which can grow to nearly twice the size of vaderi. These supergiants live in very deep-sea environments, so they’re difficult to study.

Only recently have Bathynomus species become a delicacy in Vietnam, probably because, until modern fishing methods plumbed these depths, they were inaccessible. The local demand has made these sea bugs a rather expensive delicacy that consumers are comparing to lobster. That can’t be good news for the new species we have only just met.

The new species is described in the online journal ZooKeys. May the force be with them.

Photo credit: ZooKeys