A large crustacean that lives in the sea off Vietnam has been designated as a new species and named after Darth Vader. Bathynomus vaderi is a kind of isopod, a group that also includes woodlice.

A team of scientists discovered a new species of giant isopod in the deep waters near Vietnam's Spratly Islands and named it Bathynomus vaderi, in honor of the iconic helmet worn by Darth Vader ...

Scientists in Vietnam have identified a new 'supergiant' giant isopod species, Bathynomus vaderi. Found near the Spratly Islands, B. vaderi reaches up to 32.5 cm and weighs more than 1 kg.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Son holding a giant specimen of another species of giant isopod found in Vietnam (B. jamesi) that weighed 2.62 kg from a seafood market in Hanoi, October 2024.

Southeast Asian scientists sent people’s skin crawling after discovering a sea bug off Vietnam that’s so ... South China Sea as well. Like all giant isopods, of which there are around 20 ...

Deep-sea isopods found in markets and restaurants turned out to be a species new to science. Ng PKL, Sidabalok CM, Nguyen TS (2025) ZooKeys Along the coast of the South China Sea in Vietnam ...

Giant isopods look like monstrously sized woodlice and can live in the deep sea, beyond the reach of daylight. But how much do we really know about the lives of these crustaceans? Despite their ...

Giant isopods are also considered an expensive delicacy in Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Previously, they had only been sold as a bycatch project at low prices by local fishermen. Since 2017, media ...

A 14-legged giant isopod is the highlight of a new dish at a ramen restaurant in Taipei, and it has people queuing up. Last month, the shop, called The Ramen Boy, launched the limited-edition ...

Weighing over a kilogram, giant isopods like B. vaderi are an example of deep-sea gigantism ... The six male specimens Ng and team examined were trawled from deep waters off Vietnam near the Spratly ...