Giant ocean-dwelling isopods are on the menu in Vietnam. Scientists discovered a new species among specimens captured for the food market, and it's a doozy.

B. vaderi is part of the genus of giant isopods called Bathynomus, a group that can reach over 30 centimeters in length and look like overgrown versions of our terrestrial pill bugs, or woodlice. This new-to-science species takes the supersizing one step further, however, belonging to a more exclusive group nicknamed the “supergiants”.

A purchase at an urban Vietnamese fish market turned out to be a whole new species of giant isopod –with a bit of a dark side. The foot-long crustacean has been named Bathynomus vaderi and sports a head that resembles the iconic helmet of Darth Vader from the Star Wars.

A marine crustacean that looks like Darth Vader’s helmet has been recognised as a new species, but it could be under threat from trawling due to its popularity in Vietnamese restaurants

A team of scientists discovered a new species of giant isopod in the deep waters near Vietnam's Spratly Islands and named it Bathynomus vaderi, in honor of the iconic helmet worn by Darth Vader from Star Wars.

Deep in the waters off Vietnam’s coast, scientists have discovered a new species of giant isopod — a creature that looks like a massively oversized roly-poly or pill bug. Named Bathynomus vaderi after the iconic Star Wars villain,

Giant isopods of the genus Bathynomus, which can reach more than 30 cm in length, are known as bọ biển or "sea bugs" in Vietnam. For the first time, one such species was described from Vietnamese waters and named Bathynomus vaderi.