Researchers newly identified a “supergiant” sea bug species off the coast of south-central Vietnam, but scientists worry about its vulnerability to overfishing.

A species of giant isopod, Bathynomus vaderi, has been named following its harvesting in the waters off Vietnam. According to scientists who wrote about the giant crustacean in the journal ZooKeys, it can grow to at least 12 inches long.

Discover Bathynomus vaderi, a newly identified giant isopod species from Vietnam’s deep seas, named after Darth Vader.

"That a species as large as this could have stayed hidden for so long reminds us just how much work we still need to do to find out what lives in Southeast Asian waters." In recent years, sea bugs have become a Vietnamese delicacy.

Bathynomus vaderi, a newly discovered giant isopod in Vietnam, is now a popular delicacy and highlights the urgent need to study and sustainably manage deep-sea ecosystems. Giant isopods of the genus Bathynomus,