There’s so much to love about the giant isopod, the biggest roly poly on planet ocean! Look deeply into those compound eyes and we know you’ll fall head over uropods for this gorgeous giant.
The giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus) is a colossal crustacean that grows up to 16 inches (40 cm) and is found in the deep Atlantic Ocean, living 1600 feet (500m) and more below the ocean’s surface.
Cousin to the backyard pillbug, Bathynomus is a connoisseur of carcasses. This adorable seafloor roomba senses its surroundings with large eyes and two sets of antennae to pick up the scent of some fresh carrion. The giant isopod roams the deep seafloor on 7 pairs of legs, with an occasional burst of speedy swimming from fluttering swimmerets, to feast on the remains of the deceased raining down from above. Because food fragments can be few and far between, they have adapted to eat as much as they can at one time, and then may not eat again for a year or more!
We’re sure that many of you are fans of giant isopods already—but if you’re not yet convinced, check this out! You can see AND TOUCH giant isopods for yourself in our new exhibition, ”Into the Deep: Exploring Our Undiscovered Ocean”!
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/giant-isopod
____
Whale hello there! We hope you liked this video. Subscribe to our channel for more from the Monterey Bay and our mission to inspire conservation of the ocean:
https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=montereybayaquarium
We’re on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MontereyAq
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/montereybayaquarium
And Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/montereybayaquarium
And Tumblr! https://www.tumblr.com/blog/montereybayaquarium
And Twitch! https://www.twitch.tv/montereyaq
And TikTok! https://www.tiktok.com/@montereyaq
And Discord! https://discord.gg/montereybayaquarium
And subscribe to our emails here: https://montereybayaquarium.org/subscribe
