Top Tweets for #Bathyopsurus

about 2 months ago

Please read my article on isopods of the genus #Bathyopsurus, belonging to the family #Munnopsidae (#Asellota, #Isopoda). The #ocean #watercolumn demands highly specialized #adaptations from #organisms, particularly when they inhabit great depths. Conditions there are dark and cold, resulting in a less diverse food supply compared to shallower waters. Organisms must also cope with high-pressure environments. Within the Munnopsidae, the genus Bathyopsurus, comprising few species (three known) and rarely encountered, has evolved specific adaptations for life at #deepsea levels between 3,000 and approximately 6,000 meters. Reaching lengths of over 6 cm, they are considered (only within Munnopsidae) exceptionally large. With greatly elongated limbs and paddle-like legs, they are elegant and agile swimmers. Regarding their #diet, they subsist on sinking plant debris (a behavior well-studied in Bathyopsurus #nybelini). You can read more about this in my X #sciencecommunication article linked below. A. Brandt et al. (2025) described the new species B. sonnei and even present phylogenetic relationships between seven munnopsid isopod specimens including B. sonnei. © #StefanFWirth, August 2026, Berlin References: S.F. Wirth on X, science communication (2026) 👇 link in first reply A. Brandt et al. (2025) DOI: 10.1016/j.pocean.2025.103443 👇 link in first reply Photos: 1) Bathyopsurus #sonnei, #Holotype female SMF-62376: Ventral view immediately after sampling; P7 and additional appendages are detached. Scale bar = 1 cm © Anne-Helene Tandberg. 2) Bathyopsurus sonnei, Holotype female, SMF-62376: A dorsal, B lateral, and C ventral views. Scale bar = 1 cm © Sven Tränkner. 3) #Phylogenetictree based on #COI sequences of seven munnopsid isopod specimens and one desmosomatid isopod specimen as an outgroup. Node support values are expressed as bootstrap support (%). by A. Brandt et al. (2025) licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 International 👇link see first answer

wirthstef's tweet photo. Please read my article on isopods of the genus #Bathyopsurus, belonging to the family #Munnopsidae (#Asellota, #Isopoda).

The #ocean #watercolumn demands highly specialized #adaptations from #organisms, particularly when they inhabit great depths. Conditions there are dark and cold, resulting in a less diverse food supply compared to shallower waters. Organisms must also cope with high-pressure environments.
Within the Munnopsidae, the genus Bathyopsurus, comprising few species (three known) and rarely encountered, has evolved specific adaptations for life at #deepsea levels between 3,000 and approximately 6,000 meters. Reaching lengths of over 6 cm, they are considered (only within Munnopsidae) exceptionally large. With greatly elongated limbs and paddle-like legs, they are elegant and agile swimmers. Regarding their #diet, they subsist on sinking plant debris (a behavior well-studied in Bathyopsurus #nybelini). You can read more about this in my X #sciencecommunication article linked below. A. Brandt et al. (2025) described the new species B. sonnei and even present phylogenetic relationships between seven munnopsid isopod specimens including B. sonnei.

© #StefanFWirth, August 2026, Berlin

References:
S.F. Wirth on X, science communication (2026) 👇 link in first reply

A. Brandt et al. (2025)
DOI: 10.1016/j.pocean.2025.103443 👇 link in first reply

Photos:
1) Bathyopsurus #sonnei, #Holotype female SMF-62376: Ventral view immediately after sampling; P7 and additional appendages are detached. Scale bar = 1 cm © Anne-Helene Tandberg.

2)
Bathyopsurus sonnei, Holotype female, SMF-62376: A dorsal, B lateral, and C ventral views. Scale bar = 1 cm © Sven Tränkner.

3) #Phylogenetictree based on #COI sequences of seven munnopsid isopod specimens and one desmosomatid isopod specimen as an outgroup. Node support values are expressed as bootstrap support (%).

by A. Brandt et al. (2025)
licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 International 👇link see first answer

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Stefan F. Wirth

@wirthstef

about 2 months ago

Bizarre yet elegant swimmers of the #deepsea: the rare isopods of the genus #Bathyopsurus. Bathyopsurus is a genus within the family #Munnopsidae (#Asellota, #Isopoda). Currently, only three #species are known. They inhabit the hadal and #abyssalzones, regions of extreme depth, in these species' cases ranging from 3,000 to ca 8,000 meters. These relatively large isopods are free-#swimming; they are capable of excellent backward maneuvering and swimming upside down. The species Bathyopsurus #sonnei is considered particularly large within its family, reaching a length of approximately 6.5 cm. While this size is tiny compared to other oceanic isopods, such as members of the family #Cirolanidae, where the genus #Bathynomus can reach lengths of around 50 cm, Bathyopsurus ranks among the "giants" within the family Munnopsidae. Bathyopsurus exhibits distinct morphological adaptations for a swimming lifestyle, featuring greatly elongated #limbs and partly paddle-like legs. The species Bathyopsurus #nybelini is also noted for its unique ability to process difficult food sources; it feeds on sinking #Sargassum seaweed, using specially adapted mouthparts to saw and grind the material. Specialized #gutmicrobes assist in digesting this plant-based diet. © Stefan F. Wirth, August 2026 Reference Schmidt Ocean on X (2026): Further reading: A. Brandt et al. (2025) https://t.co/suT9L0J6eA

Schmidt Ocean @SchmidtOcean

about 2 months ago

Backward-swimming Bathyopsurus — a rare deep-sea isopod that lives between 4,000 and 11,000 m. They use two pairs of enlarged, paddle-like legs to swim; scientists have observed the animal moving backward and even upside down. #DeepWonders, Trinidad & Tobago, 3,923 m

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E/V Nautilus @EVNautilus

12 months ago

Is it a butterfly doing a backstroke? You may not know it, but this deep-sea #isopod is a rare sight! Scientists still have much to learn about the long-limbed crustacean #Bathyopsurus, as only a few specimens (of only two species) have been collected.

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