Giant, terrifying deep-sea louse-like creature filmed fisting fish head

A terrifying video captured during a research dive off the coast of Florida shows a deep-sea creature feasting on the head of a fish.

The video is featured in the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Office of Ocean Exploration and Research’s “31 Dives of Halloween” web series, which highlights the many fascinating creatures of the deep sea in the run-up to the popular holiday.

The creature visible in the clip is a giant isopod of the species Bathynomus giganteus—A deep sea Scavengers that are closely related to the pill bugs and sowbugs commonly found in homes and gardens.

Isopods are a type of crustacean that live in both marine and terrestrial environments, with about 10,000 species worldwide.

Giant isopods, belonging to the genus (group of species) Bathinomas, the largest of all isopods. They can be much larger than their terrestrial relatives, reaching up to about a foot and a half in length.

“Giant isopods are an example of deep-sea giantism, where it deep sea The animals get very large,” said Stephanie Farrington, a biologist who led the expedition that collected footage of the giant isopod and now works with NOAA Fisheries. Newsweek.

“It is thought that this phenomenon increases viability, and thus food shortages in the deep sea may have led to the evolution of giantism. Colder water also has a correlation with larger body size – usually bottom temperatures. the ocean near freezing,” said Farrington, who specializes in deep-sea biology.

The video in question was captured during a NOAA research expedition in 2019 at a depth of about 4,000 feet, 40 miles southeast of Key West, Florida. It shows a giant isopod snacking on a piece of fish approximately 8 inches long.

Although giant isopods were first discovered in 1879, there is still much about their biology and behavior that we do not fully understand because scientists have yet to conduct extensive research on them. This is why such videos are so important to researchers

“Because they live at such great depths, they are very difficult to study. Until modern history, the only way we had access to them was to use trawls,” Farrington said. “Modern ocean exploration and the advent of deep submersible vehicles allowed us to observe giant isopods in their natural environment. This made it possible to observe their behavior more frequently in situ.”

Although scientists have a basic understanding of their diet, breeding habits and distribution, they are still learning new things about this group of animals. A new species was described from the Gulf of Mexico this year.

Like all crustaceans, giant isopods have a hard exterior known as an exoskeleton. According to Farrington, the bodies of these otherworldly creatures are divided into three parts, including the cephalon (head), perion (thorax), and pleon (abdomen).

They have 14 paired legs, a fanned tail, known as a uropod, and two sets of antennae—a long pair and a short one. They have a set of strange appendages on their abdomens called pleopods which are part of their respiratory system.

According to Farrington, giant isopods have been collected or seen around the world at depths of 170 to 2,140 meters (558 to 7,020 ft). Bathynomus giganteus Most are found on or near sandy seabeds, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida, and as far south as Brazil.

Although more than 20 species of giant isopods have been described so far, B. monster Other than the newly identified species from the Gulf of Mexico, Farrington is the only species known to be found around the United States.

Giant isopods are thought to have existed for more than 160 million years, evidenced by the fossil record.

B. monster It is not on the endangered species list but faces several threats. Hard-bodied invertebrates (those with calcified body parts) are threatened by ocean acidification, which lowers ocean pH as greenhouse gases are absorbed into the ocean.

“Ocean acidification can literally dissolve or prevent the formation of calcium carbonate in shells and exoskeletons,” Farrington said.

These animals are also victims of plastic pollution and may be inadvertently caught by deep-sea trawlers.