Adorable, bloodsucking sea parasite looks just like sushi

Live Science ^ | Brandon Specktor

[BenLurkin]

While many isopods eat dead or decaying animals, Rocinela isopods tend to be parasites that carve out cozy homes on the backs or among the internal organs of other sea creatures. Most members of the genus appear dull and brown, but it's possible that Fukushima's famed sushi isopod may have taken more than just a meal from one of its former hosts, Hibino said.

Fishers caught the peculiar isopod in a net near the coastal town of Rausu on Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. The creature was captured at a depth of 2,600 to 4,000 feet (800 to 1,200 meters) and seemed to have a full belly upon discovery, Hibino said. Sadly, there's no way of knowing exactly what the isopod fed on to achieve its raw-fish complexion. Measuring just 1 inch (3 centimeters) in length, the isopod could have easily stowed away on any number of larger sea creatures, the aquarium said.

This strangeness is par for the course for isopods; more than 10,000 species have been described to date, with diets, habitats and sizes ranging wildly. For instance, scientists writing in the journal ZooKeys in 2020 described the largest isopod ever detected: a puppy-size chonker whose sinister, domed shell earned it the nickname "Darth Vader of the seas." That's one crustacean we wouldn't want to invite to dinner.

[richardtavor]

I thought you were describing Pelosi..

[Red Badger]

If you knew Sushi, like I know Sushi...............

[Pollard]

[Red Badger]

Diner: Het waiter! Why is this sushi moving on my pplate?

Waiter: You asked for ‘fresh’.....................

[MercyFlush]

“I thought you were describing Pelosi.”

He was.

“While many isopods eat dead or decaying animals, Rocinela isopods tend to be parasites that carve out cozy homes on the backs or among the internal organs of other sea creatures.”

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Also...

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4001081/posts

[BenLurkin]

oops

[Rurudyne]

A doodlebug from Hell: https://www.livescience.com/supergiant-isopod-newfound-species.html

[Vaquero]

Sea lice. Would pick them from the gills of fish I caught

[SpaceBar]

This ‘science’ article reads like it was meant to be read aloud to second graders.

[353FMG]

Sushi on the hoof.

[BenLurkin]

Dig this: https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4001175/posts

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Thar she blows! Well, sort of...

[COBOL2Java]

Rocinela Isopod

"It's adowable!"

[Carpe Cerevisi]

You actually searched for a kid from a St. Jude’s television ad to make fun of him?

[NWFree]

Probably tastes about the same too 🤮

[COBOL2Java]

You actually searched for a kid from a St. Jude’s television ad to make fun of him?

I can't stand him. I change channels whenever that awful commercial with him comes on.

[fwdude]

It looks like a cockroach.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Nope. For total 'Sea Adorableness,' you've got to go with the Sea Bunny Slug.