Scientists Name Alien-Looking ‘Supergiant’ Sea Bug After Darth Vader

Nothing epitomizes the mysteries and wonders of ocean life quite like a giant sea bug. Imagine a pale roly-poly the size of a muskrat wandering the seafloor. A team of researchers identified a new species of sea bug and it’s a whopper. They named it Bathynomus vaderi in honor of Darth Vader, the iconic villain from the Star Wars universe.

Bathynomus vaderi isn’t just a giant sea bug, it’s a “supergiant,” a designation reserved for the most jumbo of its kind. They can weigh over two pounds and reach over a foot in length. Researchers officially described the new species in a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on Jan. 14. The Darth Vader inspiration came from the appearance of the sea bug’s head, which the researchers thought looked like Vader’s distinctive helmet.

Sea Bugs And Pillbugs Are Peas In A Pod

Sea bugs are isopods like pillbugs, the little gray roll-up animals typically found in gardens. The ocean-dwelling versions like Bathynomus vaderi are absolute units compared to their terrestrial kin. “The enormous size of giant isopods is a result of a phenomenon known as deep sea gigantism or abyssal gigantism, the tendency of deep-sea animals to grow to a much larger size than similar species in shallower waters,” the Aquarium of the Pacific said in an explainer. The carnivorous marine isopods typically scavenge carcasses on the seafloor, but may also eat live prey.

Eating Giant Sea Bugs

Isopods are crustaceans, part of a group that includes lobsters and shrimp. Sea bugs have become a trendy food in Vietnam. There are a few sea bug recipe videos on YouTube showing how chefs prepare the animals. One is even labeled as a “nightmare food challenge.” It’s not something you would expect to find on a standard seafood restaurant menu.

The burgeoning sea-bug seafood trade is the reason for the discovery of Bathynomus vaderi. Researchers from Hanoi University obtained a series of sea bug specimens from Vietnamese fishermen and restaurants. Most were from a known species of sea bugs, but the team found examples of the previously undescribed Bathynomus vaderi. Crustacean experts Peter Ng of the National University of Singapore, Conni Sidabalok from the National Research and Innovation Agency Indonesia and Nguyen Thanh Son from the Vietnam National University teamed up to study the new species.

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Bathynomus vaderi comes from deep waters near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea east of Vietnam. The team expects the species is likely to dwell in other parts of the South China Sea as well. “The discovery of a species as strange as Bathynomus vaderi in Vietnam highlights just how poorly we understand the deep-sea environment,” ZooKeys publisher Pensoft said in a statement. “That a species as large as this could have stayed hidden for so long reminds us just how much work we still need to do to find out what lives in Southeast Asian waters.”

There are thousands of marine isopod species, but the supergiant sea bugs are some of the most eye-catching animals of their kind. They may look like sci-fi alien creations, but they’re very much a product of their deep-sea environment. Describing the newly discovered species is just the first step. Scientists would like to learn more about the animals’ range and how the food trade might impact them. “The sustainable fishery of giant isopods just adds to the many challenges we face,” Pensoft said. “And the first step is to know what lives there.”