Giant Isopods are just like some kind of little insects (see picture below), but only in a bigger format. These creatures are crustaceans (a mix between a crab and a shrimp). The Giant Isopod also called Bathynomus giganteus is one of the nine species of the genus Bathynomus. That live in the deep and cold waters of the Atlantic ocean. The Giant Isopod isn't a very lucrative business for fishing industries, because they are hard to catch and when they're brought to the surface they have already been scavenged by other fishes. However in Taiwan where they live much closer in shallow waters they're served in restaurants.

The Giant Isopod can reach a length between 19 cm and 37 cm with a maximum weight of 1.7 kg which isn't so great to be called gigantic, but if we compare these with other normal Isopods, then they are just enormous. The Giant Ispod has a kind of shield on his back with two antennas close to its head. It has 7 pair of legs also called (pereiopods) and one pair of these legs has as function to bring food to its jaws.

You see the resembles between the Giant Isopod?

Giant Isopods are deep sea creatures that scavenge at depths of 170m to depths or even 2200 meters. However they prefer to stay at middle depths of 300m to 700m. They love to scavenge dead whales, fish and even squids. It isn't only a scavenger, if its spots a sea cucumber, spunge or another little creature, then he won't hesitate and eat this creature. Living on these depths isn't a paradise. Therefore they could stay for more then eight weeks without any food. The deeper we go the bigger that these Giant Isopods are. Giant Isopods are living fossils, they haven't evolved for over 130 million years.

Giant Isopods lay eggs, the mature female develops a marsupium (brood punch) when she becomes  sexually active. The eggs that have been fertilized by the male Isopod will be stored in the marsupium for an unknown time and when the eggs hatch, then the miniature Isopods emerge from the marsupium as little clones.

Did you know that the eggs of the giant Isopod are the biggest ones of all the invertebrates?