Giant isopods have become a seafood delicacy in Vietnam (Image: Peter Ng)
A “supergiant” sea bug discovered in Vietnam has been named for its striking resemblance to villain Darth Vader.
The giant isopod, which can reach lengths of 32.5cm and weigh over a kilogram, was christened Bathynomus vaderi in honour of its head which is said to look like the Sith Lord’s helmet.
The bug has only been found in waters near the Spratly Islands in Vietnam, but further research is expected to confirm its presence in other parts of the South Sea.
Giant isopods like Bathynomus vaderi have become an expensive delicacy in Vietnam.
Once sold by fishermen as bycatch for low prices, they have become a popular dish with some diners claiming they are more tasty than lobster.
The bug’s head is thought to resemble Darth Vader’s helmet (Image: Nguyen Thanh Son)
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The new species was discovered after staff from Hanoi University bought four giant isopods from Quy Nhơn City in March 2022, and sent two to Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in the National University of Singapore for identification.
Expert Peter Ng, who works in a crustacean laboratory, worked with colleagues to study the specimens and discovered they were a so far unknown species.
Writing in the journal ZooKeys, the researchers described how diners were waiting up to a month to get their hands on giant isopods in Hanoi.
They wrote: “Today, some seafood markets in Hanoi, Hồ Chí Minh City, and Đà Nẵng City keep up to 30 individuals in their chilled water tanks for customers to buy.
The new species was described in a paper in journal ZooKeys (Image: ZooKeys)
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“It is also common to see advertisements selling ‘sea bugs’ on social networks by some seafood stores. Once they are purchased online, the stores will immediately ship the alive animals in icebox to customers.
“Individuals weighing between 0.6–0.9kg are the best sellers because the price is more affordable. Large specimens in excess of 2kg are also sought after as they are less common, and their size makes for an impressive dish.”
The team noted that the discovery of Bathynomus vaderi highlights how poorly the deep-sea is understood.
And they argued there was an urgent need to better understand our deep-sea biodiversity as humans increasingly endeavour to exploit this habitat for fisheries, oil and gas, and even minerals.