A team of researchers from Singapore have discovered an animal named “Bathynomus raksasa” that seemed to be wearing the helmet of Darth Vader, the epic dark lord of the Star Wars.
It was discovered in the unexplored waters of the Indian Ocean in Bantan, off the southern coast of West Java in Indonesia in 2018.
Salient Features of Bathynomus raksasa
Bathynomus raksasa is a “supergiant” Bathynomusand and has been described as the “cockroach of the sea”.
It is a giant isopod in the genus Bathynomus. The giant isopods are distantly related to crabs, lobsters, and shrimps (which belong to the order of decapods), and are found in the cold depths of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
The cockroach of the sea has 14 legs but uses these only to crawl along the bed of oceans in search of food. The Darth Vader appearance is due to the shape of the cockroach’s head and compound eyes.
(Source: Indian Express)
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