Talk:Giant isopod

Run for your lives!!

Giant sea cockroach attacks Internet! Everybody run, run for your lives!!

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Jengod (talk • contribs) 15:57, 13 September 2004

I was explaining to a group of eager Japanese IRC users that this is what they serve at Taco Bell. -mt

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.119.73.123 (talk • contribs) 21:50, 13 September 2004

THIS THING IS FREAKING DEMONIC!

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.164.116.221 (talk • contribs) 13:00, 17 August 2009

Isopod? Classification?

And I always thought the Scientific name was the "horseshoe crab" but that's a crab of a different color! (The horseshoe crab must be an isopod but an isopod does not have to be a horshoe crab) Did I get that right?

Pat

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.244.24.22 (talk • contribs) 23:01, 13 September 2004

According to the article the Giant Isopod is "Bathynomus giganteus"

An Isopod is any of numerous crustaceans of the order Isopoda, characterized by a flattened body bearing seven pairs of legs and including the sow bugs and gribbles.

A Sow Bug is also known as a Woodlouse.

The horseshoe crab, "Limulus polyphemus" is an arthropod that is more closely related to spiders than crabs.

Giant Isopod

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Subphylum: Crustacea
• Class: Malacostraca
• Order: Isopoda

Horseshoe Crab

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Class: Merostomata
• Order: Xiphosura

The split occurs in the Subphylum 'layer'

So the Horseshoe crab is apparently NOT an Isopod

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.130.108.128 (talk • contribs) 04:31, 15 September 2004

The horseshoe crab always has 4 pairs of legs. This giant isopod has 7 pairs of legs. Do all isopods have 7 pairs of legs? Someone please add that info to the isopod article.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by DavidCary (talk • contribs) 20:28, 5 November 2004

David, please don't remove other people's comments from the talk page.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Gadykozma (talk • contribs) 22:12, 5 November 2004

Those confused about where these beasts belong on the "tree of life" should remember that pillbugs and wood lice are isopods that can be found in many people's back yards and they look very much like tiny land-dwelling versions of the Bathynomus described in this article. --House of Scandal 11:20, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I remember pillbugs, tho they were more popularly called "Roly Poly"'s by everyone I knew as a child, back in California. ...tho I find no mention of that use of the term in the roly poly article!Zaphraud (talk) 22:23, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Revert

14:42, July 17, 2005 - Reverted article to last good version after complete deletion by user from 24.191.14.69. (Welcome Farkers!) - Cognoscento — Preceding undated comment added 16:46, 17 July 2005

Too scary

Can someone flop the two pictures on this page? The top one is too scary, and is too shocking to see right off the bat. :(:(:(

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.51.13.11 (talk • contribs) 11:39, 15 May 2006

I don't know which one you were looking at when you posted this; all I know is that any picture of these things is gonna be scary and shocking. I no longer fear Hell, for I have seen the giant isopod.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

~ CZeke 11:15, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

PS: Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

I can't see how any of these are either shocking or scary, much less gross. They look almost cute even.

70.71.7.46 (talk) 06:38, 12 November 2008 (UTC)bluefoxx

Agreed. Cute.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.191.209.134 (talk) 22:33, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

I think the one the fisherman is holding is cute...the other one is just...too weird! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.237.48.196 (talk) 03:01, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

The front view one looks as if it's giving a sinister smile for the camera. Sarujo (talk) 00:45, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Merger suggestion

This page really should be merged with Bathynomus giganteus, you know...R. New, 21:11, 10^th October, 2006

I know this sounds dumb but....

Are these edible? Do people actually eat them? What do they taste like?

--Xercessthegreat 18:50, 6 December 2006 (UTC)—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Xercessthegreat (talk • contribs) 18:50, 6 December 2006 (UTC).

They live so deep in the sea that they aren't a traditional part of anyone's cuisine as far as I know. These are Crustacea and I imagine if you boiled and ate it it wouldn't be too different than eating a lobster, crab or prawn.--House of Scandal 11:13, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

You're not the only wondering what these taste like. I'd love to know too - anything that ugly from the sea must taste great! :)

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.99.27.53 (talk • contribs) 07:45, 18 June 2007

Haha, I've been wondering the exact same thing. I imagine they taste like giant lobster tails, and, more importantly, showing dinner party guests a boiling pot full of those would simply be priceless. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.233.116.179 (talk) 21:55, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

Could always try boiling up some woodlice, they are afterall much closer related xD - yeah, doesn't sound so appetising now. (It's funny you know, our ancestors wern't big on eatting fish, but did eat bugs. Now we find bugs gross, even though we scoff shrimps, prawns and their other aquatic cousins) --85.62.18.8 (talk) 23:01, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Actually saltwater habitat makes a difference. People tend to see seafood as cleaner. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.65.113.76 (talk) 10:29, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

The Romans ate woodlice (mashed into a paste, IIRC). The basic principle would be the same. Drutt (talk) 21:21, 2 June 2008 (UTC) I'm also wondering this because I've seen videos of people cooking them and wonder how widespread the practice is. Apparently they're a byproduct of fisheries so they could be a potential new food source. Deku link (talk) 21:44, 29 April 2021 (UTC)

Bathynomus

Cool article, but proper citations are really needed. These Carboniferousesque monsters first captured my interest in the 1970s when there was an article about them in Reader's Digest. I would have called this article Bathynomus and made "giant isopod" redirect to it rather than vice versa, but no big deal. I am more surprised there wasn't already an article of some length about Bathynomus already. --House of Scandal 11:10, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Naming conventions (fauna) says to use the common name in English when it exists, which is why this article is at "giant isopod" and not Bathynomus. —Lowellian (reply) 17:10, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

We are all going to die

We are all going to f***ing die. First camel spiders, then horseshoe crabs now this? F***. -ETPC —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.110.120.72 (talk • contribs) 06:29, 17 February 2007

You need to relax. Here's something to make you smile. Drutt (talk) 17:09, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

naw they wouldn,t kill you...look like giant pubic lice to me

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Desperado185 (talk • contribs) 01:49, 12 July 2008

They may seem physically harmless, but they will eat your soul with a trench.--92.118.191.48 (talk) 20:06, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

Vandalism

Okay, someone vandalized this thing with statements about his pimphood. I realize this is ranked as a low importance article, but really now... I'll edit it out, but that's all I can do from a cranky PC at school. Sjester 19:43, 19 April 2007 (UTC)SJester

Pets

I want a pet one of these. Would these be difficult to obtain? Do the make good pets? They just crawl around and swim, right? —Mgrinshpon 23:13, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Are you kidding? That thing will eat your face clean off...

...pure evil, I tell you. Seary6579 22:24, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

I would love to have one of these as a pet. Pulse416 23:48, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

problem is, they're deep-sea creatures. i think you'd need a pressurized aquarium. there are a few in public zoos/aquaria --- the article has a link to the WhoZoo website, for one --- but supposedly they don't make for exciting viewing, as they spend a lot of time sitting around immobile. 75.5.237.241 (talk) 16:26, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

The animals in the pictures look healthy - you would expect deep sea creatures to suffer the effects of decompression when brought to the surface. Drutt (talk) 19:59, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Help?

Lowry, J.K. & Dempsey, K.I. (2005). The giant deep-sea scavenger Bathynomus (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cirolanidae) in the Indo-West Pacific. *** Journal - No Details *** (in press): *** Pages - No Details ***

I found this reference here. It seems to be related to the SEAS project, which was spearheaded by James K. Lowry. But I have no idea how I would follow up on this since it doesn't give me a journal and I can't find any other citations to this. ?? ~[[kinda]] 22:21, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Cloverfield Movie Monster...

What is the source for the Cloverfield monster reference?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.220.240.21 (talk) 15:11, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

We Require More Minerals

Was anyone else first introduced to these beautiful creatures through this image?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Wormwoodpoppies (talk • contribs) 12:52, 18 May 2008

Me! I thought perhaps the ones in that photo were (model) trilobites, but I eventually tracked them down to this article. I also found the source photo (without the text). Yeryry (talk) 12:15, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Clever subtitle! Danceswithzerglings (talk) 21:20, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Ball?

How flexible is the shell? Can they roll themselves into balls? Drutt (talk) 20:59, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I think I heard on Weird, True, and Freaky that they can roll up into balls like woodlice. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.237.48.196 (talk) 03:04, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

AAAAAAHHHH

Gross. Gross. Gross. Gross. Gross. --Longestpants (talk) 18:13, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Psh....the isopod is a most excellent animal. See? How can you not think this is cute. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.33.59.183 (talk) 20:08, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

How much of this is not nonsense?

I found this in the Physical description section:
"In addition, the giant isopod has one of the most repulsive forms in the animal kingdom to humans. This is thought by psychologists to be due to its many legs, exaggerated exoskeleton, large compound eyes, and foul odor that it obtains through a life underwater. Because of this, giant isopods are rarely found in the human media, and are even less often used as pets."

This is not cited, and seems actually to be farcical. Can anyone provide any references to any of this? If not, I'll remove it...WDavis1911 (talk) 06:32, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Species feautured in Dan Brown's book Deception Point

Maybe there could be mention of this somewhere in the article? -- OlEnglish ^(Talk) 18:57, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

Kabutops?

I'd change it but I can't be bothered, and I thought you guys would find it funny to know that in the physical description, it says it evolves into Kabutops. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.169.156.92 (talk) 11:45, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

Why are the eyes so shiny?

Any expert know why the eyes are shiny silver? What wavelengths do these things see anyway? It seems odd that a deep sea creature would have shiny eyes. Why would it want to reject light?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.237.69.60 (talk • contribs) 02:48, 17 September 2009

Good question. You should try asking at the science reference desk as there's much more experts that watch that page so you're more likely to get an answer. -- œ^™ 22:11, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

B. giganteus < 2 & 1/2 Feet

They don't get 30 inches long. That number is being propagated across the web and I know for a fact it is wrong. Somebody cite a reference please.

Common names: in the Gulf of Mexico the giant isopod is sometimes referred to as a "sea roach."

71.203.109.244 (talk) 04:12, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

I'm curious, as well. Here are some links I have found (ones that were generated prior to April Fool's day). The Fox News link looks as if it may just be an up close shot since there isn't much for perspective. Unless someone can offer better insight.

Yahoo Buzz Article Fox News Article Aneah (talk) 11:40, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Whether It's Eaten

The claim that it's commonly eaten in Taiwanese restaurant was not cited. As a Taiwanese myself I don't recall seeing it in any restaurant. Whoever wrote it probably mistook mantis shrimps or Ranina ranina, which are indeed eaten in Taiwan, for giant isopods. I've added a citation request. Yel D'ohan (talk) 17:13, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

There are internet videos of some sort of large marine isopod being cooked and eaten in some form of East Asian cuisine... though Japanese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, the descriptions are confused. -- 65.94.40.222 (talk) 14:05, 7 December 2018 (UTC)

Served in Japan [1][2] ja:オオグソクムシ (oogusokumushi) -- 65.94.40.222 (talk) 14:52, 7 December 2018 (UTC)

capacity or activity

This word seems to be wrong, but i did not find obvious vandalism in th last several versions.--87.158.176.108 (talk) 02:30, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Explain to me all the things about giant isopods.

I have spent the last 3 months thinking about giant isopods, I draw them every day. I have read the Wikipedia article on them 3 times now and I've seen every image on Google of them. I require more info. Please, give me all the info you have on giant isopods, it can be drawings, videos, images, articles, etc. I do not care what it is, as long as it is a giant isopod. Thank you :) 2001:8004:1100:FAFD:E065:C3B9:D4AE:22DB (talk) 03:45, 26 November 2021 (UTC)