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A NEW species of foot-long giant sea bug has been discovered in plain sight on sale at food markets.
The critter has become a popular delicacy in Vietnam and is even being sold live in city restaurants, but somehow remained undocumented until now.
A newly identified species of giant sea bugs can grow to over 30cm long and weigh more than a kilogram[/caption]
The giant isopod is said to be even more delicious than lobster, and commercial fisherman are hauling it from the sea to meet demand.
The bug’s head bears a striking resemblance to Darth Vader – so much so that scientists included the villain in the new Latin name, Bathynomus vaderi.
The species belongs to a group of isopods known as “super-giants,” which hit lengths of up 32.5 cm and weighing over a kilogram.
The incredible size of these creatures is a result of a phenomenon called “deep-sea gigantism”.
Like the Bathynomus species, B. vaderi has compound eyes, seven body segments, two pairs of antennae, and four sets of jaws.
So far, the species has only been documented around the Spratly Islands in Vietnam, but scientists expect to find it in other parts of the South China Sea.
The meaty bugs have become an expensive delicacy in Vietnam in recent years.
Until 2017, local fishermen sold them off cheaply as an unwanted catch on the side, but in recent years the media has drawn public attention to this unusual seafood, driving up prices.
People have compared the taste to other traditional crustaceans, with some even claiming it is better than lobster – the “king of seafood”.
The animals are now being commercially fished by trawlers operating in various areas of deep water around Vietnam.
Within the last five years, the trendy fish dish has spread to the capital Hanoi and other cities, where it is now common to see them sold live from tanks.
Some outlets and restaurants even advertise the sale of these “sea bugs” online on various social media platforms, complete with instructions on how to cook them.
In March 2022, staff from Hanoi University purchased four giant isopod specimens from Quy Nhơn City and them off for identification to crustacean specialist Peter Ng from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.
Peter called in fellow isopod enthusiast Conni Sidabalok from the National Research and Innovation Agency Indonesia, who previously had helped him identify new species of Bathynomus in Java.
Together they realised in early 2023 that they were looking at an undocumented species.
Now, they have published their findings in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
The discovery of a species that has been widely sold in plain sight in food markets shows just how poorly we understand the deep-sea environment.
That a species as large as this could have stayed hidden for so long suggests there could be a host of as-yet undescribed creatures lurking in the southeast-Asian waters.
Bathynomus vaderi have been sold live in shops and markets for years in Vietnam where the meat is considered a delicacy[/caption]
An aerial view of a development in the Spratly Islands where the new species has been found[/caption]
