Giant Isopod

Classification

Domain:Eukarya

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Arthropoda

Subphylum:Crustacea

Class:Malacostraca

Order:Isopoda

Family:Cirolanidae

Genus:Bathynomus

Species:Bathynomus giganteus

What is it?

The Giant Isopod is a species of isopod  that is thought to be commonly found in the the deep and dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean.First discovered in the Gulf of Mexico,in 1879 by French zoologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards,it is known as the largest species of Isopod in the world.

Where Does it Live?

The Giant Isopod lives in most of the oceans in the world, they live up to dim sublittoral zone which is 550ft underwater to the darkness of the bathypelagic zone which is 7020ft underwater. The land which they live on consists of mud and or clay. Scientists can estimate from the fossil record, that the Giant Isopod has been around for around 160 million years, which was was before the separation of the super-continent Pangea.

What Does it Eat?

The Giant Isopod is primarily a scavenger, but also a carnivore, meaning it eats meat. Where it lives, food is very scarce, all it can eat is the food that falls from the water above it. Whales, fish, and other creatures tend to fall from above, and the Isopod is thought to eat the slow moving animals on the sea floor such as sponges and sea slugs. The Isopod's mouth is a useful tool as it tears, and shreds apart its prey. Due to the scarcity of food in its environment, the isopod has adapted to this obstacle by being able to survive without food for over eight weeks.

Is it Dangerous? What Kinds of Adaptations Does it Have?

The Giant Isopod may look like a man eating creature from another world, it's not even close to big enough to eat a human. The Giant Isopod is a prime specimen of the phenomenon, deep-sea gigantism.  Deep-sea gigantism is when deep sea crustaceans, invertebrates, and other animals become larger than their relatives is shallower waters. The Colossal Squid and the Japanese Spider Crab are other organisms subject to deep-sea gigantism. This phenomenon is what makes the Giant Isopod up to 16 inches or bigger compared to other isopods which only grow to about 2 inches maximum. It has four sets of jaws to devour its prey. The Giant Isopod also has many similar adaptations that the pillbug has. The Giant Isopod can curl into a ball where only the tough outer shell of the creature is exposed, giving it a strong, solid, protection from potential predators primarily the tiger shark. The eyes of the Giant Isopod are compound eyes, and they contain around 4,000 facets, which are like small eyes. This gives them a very wide panoramic vision, and a pair of antennas that help them navigate the pitch black of the sea floor.

How Does it Reproduce?

Giant Isopods mating season is in the spring and winter, and females develop a brood pouch (marsupium), the fertilized eggs, which are thought to be the largest eggs of all marine invertebrates, are contained in the pouch until they reach a miniature form of the adults called manacae. They then continue to mature until they reach the full adult stage.

Knowledge of the Giant Isopod 

Unfortunately, very little is known of this mysterious deep sea creature, very little has been documented or studied about these creatures. There is still much to learn from these creatures, which makes them notorious for being some of the scariest, weirdest, and strangest creatures around.

Feel free to let me know what you think of this creature below in the comments area. 

The Isopod is in both these videos, just wait and you'll see! 

                          My cousin the woodlouse, can curl up just like me!

Sources:

http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/giant-isopod.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_isopod

http://all4yourfun.com/img/bizarre/strange-animals/giant-isopod.jpg

http://www.biocrawler.com/w/images/1/19/Giant_isopod_crop.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeOSXtBCY30

http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/oceanography/faculty/drazen/images/deep-sea%20diagram.jpg

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/imgjun04/cb/Woodlouse.jpg

http://whozoo.org/Anlife2001/chelsy/clh_Bathynomus.htm