De Profundis

A submarine exploring the ocean’s depths recently returned with an unexpected visitor: a crablike critter that has left many readers startled and horrified.

In a posting to social bookmarking site Reddit, a deep-sea technician detailed the finding, asking the site’s readers to help identify what exactly the bizarre looking creature was.

The post reads, “I work for a Sub-sea Survey Company, recently this beast came up attached to one of our ROVs. It measures a wee bit over 2.5 feet head to tail, and we expect it latched onto the ROV at roughly 8,500 feet depth. Unfortunately, the e-mail that these pictures were attached to came from a contractor, and the ship he was operating from (and therefore location) is unknown, so I can’t tell you what part of the Earth this beast was living.”

The pictures reveal the creature to be a giant isopod, a large crustacean that dwells in deep Atlantic and Pacific waters. This particular creature is a Bathynomus giganteus, a deep-sea scavenger that feeds on dead whales, fish and squid. . . . (continue reading)