A new species of isopod has been found in the depths of the Gulf, according to research recently published in the Journal of Natural History.
The discovery was made by a team of scientists from Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. The new species was found at a depth of 600 meters/1800ft to 800 meters/240ft and brings the number of isopods identified in the Gulf of Mexico to three.
The researchers initially thought the new species were a subspecies of B. giganteus. However, after closer examination at the Enoshima Aquarium in Japan, where the sample was held, scientists realized that it was a new species named B. yucatanensis.
According to the scientists in their published work:
“Bathynomus giganteus was discovered over a century ago, and more than 1,000 specimens have been studied with no suggestion until now of a second species with the same number of pleotelsonic spines…Superficial examination, using only pleotelson spines, could easily result in specimens of B. yucatanensis being misidentified as B. giganteus.”
They added:
“B. giganteus is indeed the species closest to B. yucatanensis…This indicates that the two species likely had a common ancestor. Additionally, there may also be other undiscovered Bathynomus spp. in the tropical western Atlantic.”
You can find the original research paper here.
