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New Species of Giant Sea Bug Discovered ... Watch What They Do When an Alligator Corpse Drops to Their Level

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A study released in August sheds new light on a mysterious species of sea creature that has now been officially discovered in the Gulf of Mexico.

Reports of the creature date back to at least 2017 and in more recent years, footage of the creatures has gone viral, with many users on social media appearing to be creeped out by the species.

In 2019, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium released a video of the creatures feasting on the corpse of an alligator.



According to a Saturday report from Fox Weather, the creatures are deep-sea isopods known as Bathynomus yucatanensis.

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“Like other isopods, they are often considered insects, though they don’t fit into the category,” the outlet reported.

In a study published by the Journal of Natural History on Aug. 9, researchers from Taiwan, Japan and Australia noted that the isopods don’t actually hunt their prey.

Instead, they prefer to act as scavengers, collecting their food from creatures that have already died.

According to Fox Weather, the creatures can grow up to 1.5 feet long and, because of their whiteish color, often appear like “giant pieces of rice floating in the ocean.”

Have you ever seen a giant isopod before?

Regardless of any new discoveries, it appears that the creatures remain just as disturbing to social media users as they were when the 2019 video went viral.

In its own coverage of the discovery, CNN noted that the creatures bare a striking resemblance to the fictional “facehuggers” from the “Alien” film franchise.

According to CNN, researchers believe many additional “huge isopods” may soon be discovered, as well.

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The researchers noted that there could very well be many undiscovered species still lurking in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

Footage of the new species has certainly caused some commotion on social media.

“They can bite through the tough hide of a gator? Wow,” one user commented about one month ago on the 2019 video posted by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.

“Reason #12,642 to never go into the ocean: Die and be food for football-sized roly poly bugs,” another user posted.

“We’re all food for something in the end…it’s true,” a third user wrote.

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Michael wrote for a number of entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020 as a staff reporter. He now manages the writing and reporting teams, overseeing the production of commentary, news and original reporting content.
Michael Austin graduated from Iowa State University in 2019. During his time in college, Michael volunteered as a social media influencer for both PragerU and Live Action. After graduation, he went on to work as a freelance journalist for various entertainment news sites before joining The Western Journal in 2020 as a staff reporter.

Since then, Michael has been promoted to the role of Manager of Writing and Reporting. His responsibilities now include managing and directing the production of commentary, news and original reporting content.
Birthplace
Ames, Iowa
Nationality
American
Education
Iowa State University
Topics of Expertise
Culture, Faith, Politics, Education, Entertainment




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