The magical world of giant canyon isopods

The giant canyon isopods is an ancient foot animal belonging to the genus Giant Isopod under the family of Isopoda. They usually live in deep sea environments and can be seen from areas 170 meters deep to the dark deep zone 2140 meters deep.

The size of Giant canyon isopods is usually 19 to 37 cm, with two pairs of tentacles on their heads. These deep-sea giants have two pairs of charming tentacles, which are not only used to capture prey, but also can keenly sense the changes in the surrounding water flow. This makes them like graceful dancers in the deep sea, looking for their delicious meals in the dark.

Don’t think they are just huge creatures. Their body scales cover the head and tail, like a lavender treasure shield, providing them with superior protection. These precious scales are actually special calcium exoskeletons, which give the giant isopods not only a gorgeous appearance, but also solid armor. Between the deep-sea silt and clay layers, the Giant canyon isopods wander alone. They are not afraid of loneliness, but show a kind of noble arrogance. These mysterious creatures compose their own fantasy legends in the deep sea.

Optical wonders

The compound eyes of Giant canyon isopods are truly unique and full of optical wonders. Like a high-tech camera, these compound eyes are made up of more than 4,000 tiny structures that act like tiny photographers, capturing the light of the deep sea.

These compound eyes have a highly reflective tapetum, as if they were wearing the shiniest coat, reflecting visible light and increasing the available light for the photoreceptors, making the giant isopods feel like they are traveling through the starry sky in the dark deep sea. And the wide-angle field of view of these eyes is like a wide-screen movie, which can capture a wider range of surroundings. They are like being in an endless visual feast, constantly perceiving all the subtleties of the deep-sea world.

Amazing appetite

The giant isopod, a deep-sea gourmet, has an amazing appetite and tenacity. Their tables are not only fill with a variety of delicacies, but also with a wealth of choices. These deep-sea gourmets mainly choose the corpses of marine organisms. As their first choice of food, just like deep-sea scavengers, responsible for cleaning up food residues on the seabed. However, they are not picky eaters. Sometimes they will patronize some slow-moving marine residents, such as sea cucumbers, sponges, nematodes, radiolarians, etc.

Amazingly, Giant canyon isopods can withstand long-term hunger, and they are “fasting experts” in the deep sea. When they suddenly encounter a big meal, just like us in a buffet restaurant. They will eat as much as they can, and sometimes even their greed affects their exercise.

There is an interesting story from the Toba Aquarium in Mie Prefecture, Japan. Where a giant isopod affectionately called “No. 1” went on a hunger strike for 5 years and 43 days. Setting a record for the longest hunger strike. This is truly a deep-sea hunger champion!

These deep-sea dwellers first appeared 160 million years ago and have survived tenaciously ever since. Not only that, their appearance has hardly changed. Which is so amazing that people can’t help but call them “living fossils in the deep sea.”