Bathynomus yucatanensis
The Bathynomus yucatanensis is a species of marine crustacean that was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. It is a member of the order of Isopoda, similar to the Bathynomus giganteus.
| Bathynomus yucatanensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Superorder: | Peracarida |
| Order: | Isopoda |
| Family: | Cirolanidae |
| Genus: | Bathynomus |
| Species: | B. yucatanensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Bathynomus yucatanensis Huang, Kawai & Bruce, 2022 | |
The Bathynomus yucatanensis was jointly published as a new species of Bathynomus by Dr. Ming-Chih Huang, Associate Professor at the National University of Tainan Department of Biological Sciences and Technology, Taiwan (ROC), Dr. Tadashi Kawai, President of the International Association of Astacology, and Nile L. Bruce, Honorary Researcher of invertebrates at the Queensland Museum of Australia.[1]
Discovery
The Bathynomus yucatanensis was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico and was initially identified as another larger species, Bathynomus giganteus. The specimen was preserved at Japan’s Enoshima Aquarium, and was later acquired by Dr. Ming-Chih Huang of National University of Tainan’s Department of Biological Sciences and Technology for identification and comparison purposes.[2] During the process, the two specimens were found to be morphologically distinctive from each other. The nucleotide sequences of two genes, the COI (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1) and 16S rRNA, were used to compare the two specimens through molecular biotechnology. The specimen was later confirmed as a new species after being peer-reviewed and jointly-identified by Dr. Tadashi Kawai, President of the International Association of Astacology, and Nile L. Bruce, Honorary Researcher of invertebrates at the Queensland Museum of Australia. The specimen was named after the location of its original discovery, the Yucatan Peninsula of the Gulf of Mexico.[3] This species is the third deep-sea isopod to be found in the Gulf of Mexico; the other two were the Bathynomus giganteus discovered in 1879, and the Bathynomus maxeyorum published in 2016. The researchers hypothesized that there may yet be further undiscovered species living in the Gulf of Mexico.[4]
Morphological Features
The Bathynomus yucatanensis is about 10 inches in length and 5 inches in width.[5]
References
- Huang, Ming-Chih; Kawai, Tadashi; Bruce, Niel L. (2022-08-09). "A new species of Bathynomus Milne-Edwards, 1879 (Isopoda: Cirolanidae) from the southern Gulf of Mexico with a redescription of Bathynomus jamesi Kou, Chen and Li, 2017 from off Pratas Island, Taiwan".
- "交換日本水族館具足蟲 南大發現深水蝨新物種". 2022-08-11.
- Huang, Ming-Chih; Kawai, Tadashi; Bruce, Niel L. (2022-08-09). "A new species of Bathynomus Milne-Edwards, 1879 (Isopoda: Cirolanidae) from the southern Gulf of Mexico with a redescription of Bathynomus jamesi Kou, Chen and Li, 2017 from off Pratas Island, Taiwan".
- "New giant deep-sea isopod discovered in the Gulf of Mexico". 2022-08-09.
- Osborne, Margaret (2022-08-11). "New Species of Deep Sea Isopod Discovered".
External links
Schneider, Jaron (11 August 2022). "Photos of a newly discovered species of large deep-sea isopod". PetaPixel.