Marine isopods show up in the news from time to time. These are basically giant, sea-going cousins of the roly-polies and pillbugs that hang around homes here in Kentucky. Fox news issued a report about one recently: this one was over 2 feet long. The ones I have read about before are only about 1 foot long. Neat critters. They supposedly scavenge whale and squid carcasses on the ocean floor. By the way: isopods are not insects, they are crustaceans. This means that they are more closely related to lobsters and crabs than beetles and butterflies. And I am convinced that a giant isopod would taste great with drawn butter and a little salt.
Here is a wikipedia entry with lots of info about giant isopods.
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I think it’s very interesting that not only do we have a terrestrial species of isopod but also a aquatic freshwater species living side by side and looking very similar here in Kentucky
ReplyDeleteYeah, and it's also amazing that the terrestrial groups have external gill-like structures that are somehow able to work on land. I've read that many times, and I'm still not sure that I believe it. I need to learn more about isopods. Who would've ever thought that roly-polies could be so interesting?
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