Bathynomus brucei
{{Short description|Species of giant isopod}}
{{Speciesbox
| taxon = Bathynomus brucei
| authority = Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
}}
Bathynomus brucei is a species of giant isopod first described in 2006.{{cite book |last1=Lowry |first1=J. K. |last2=Dempsey |first2=K. |year=2006|chapter=The giant deep-sea scavenger genus Bathynomus (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae) in the Indo-West Pacific |url=https://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/38866/38866.pdf |editor-first1=Philippe |editor-last1=Bouchet |editor-last2=Richer de Forges |editor-first2=B. |editor-last3=Justine |editor-first3=J.-L. |title=Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos |volume=24 |publisher=Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 193 |pages=163–192 |location=Paris |isbn=2-85653-585-2}} It was first located off of the coast of Australia, east of Flynn reef, though the range extends from waters of south-east of Asia to waters around the north of Australia.{{Cite web |last=Bruce |first=Niel L. |orig-date=2008-01-25 |date=2019-06-24 |title=WoRMS taxon details – Bathynomus brucei Lowry & Dempsey, 2006 |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=292757#distributions |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=Word Register of Marine Species}}
B. brucei is the largest 'giant' member of Bathynomus, a specimen collected 400 metres below sea level measuring {{cvt|154|mm}} long. Members of the larger 'supergiant' group of Bathynomus species such as B. giganteus and B. kensleyi are known to grow to lengths of almost {{cvt|20|in}}.{{Cite journal |last1=McClain |first1=Craig R. |last2=Balk |first2=Meghan A. |last3=Benfield |first3=Mark C. |last4=Branch |first4=Trevor A. |last5=Chen |first5=Catherine |last6=Cosgrove |first6=James |last7=Dove |first7=Alistair D. M. |last8=Gaskins |first8=Leo |last9=Helm |first9=Rebecca R. |last10=Hochberg |first10=Frederick G. |last11=Lee |first11=Frank B. |last12=Marshall |first12=Andrea |last13=McMurray |first13=Steven E. |last14=Schanche |first14=Caroline |last15=Stone |first15=Shane N. |date=2015 |title=Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna |journal=PeerJ |volume=3 |pages=e715 |doi=10.7717/peerj.715 |issn=2167-8359 |pmc=4304853 |pmid=25649000 |doi-access=free}}
Description
As with all other members of Bathynomus, B. brucei has seven pairs of pereopods and an exoskeleton composed of overlapping segments, the first segment of which is fused to the head.
B. brucei is roughly twice as long as it is wide. It has nine pleotelsonic spines along the distal edge of the central tail fin (the telson), including seven distal and two lateral. It has a short setal fringe on the margins of the exopods, a feature only shared by B. immanis.
References
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Category:Animals described in 2006