Our Brothers Below: An Exposition on the Bathynomus Giganteus and its Prehistoric Origins Part I

The Bathynomus Giganteus is a specie of isopod that lives on the deep ocean floor.  Because of the great depths at which it resides, the Bathynomus grows to far larger sizes than its evolutionary cousins.  It has often been called the cockroach of the ocean, but a more apt name would be a subterranean maid.  The Bathynomus eats the dead fish that float down from warmer waters, taking what most other animals would not consider eating. 

     But the point of my lecture today is not the merits of the Bathynomus in oceanic ecosystems.  Rather, I want to discuss its extraordinary evolutionary history and how it has come to be one of the most ancient and unevolved species in existence.  I also want to take away some of the stigma associated with being "unevolved."  Instead of thinking of the Bathynomus as a giant dissapointment in the timeline of life, I'd like to look at this creature as one of the early starters in the race toward survival.  It came into success early on in relation to other life forms, and it was so successful that it has needed no changes in over 60 million years. 

     Imagine what it must have been like when the Bathynomus first began foraging for food on the ocean floor.  Yes, of course there was no one singular moment when it was no longer just an isopod and officially the Bathynomus Giganteus.  In fact, that is one of the things I love about the Bathynomus, and evolution in general.  It was quietly evolving, changing, creating an exoskeleton, feeding on other prehistoric creatures, sharing the waters with their cousins the trilobytes.  what must it have been like for them to roam the sandy depths in their new form?  And now, so many years later, do they feel a connection to their brothers from so long ago?  Do they somehow remember those first few moments when their feet touched the sand (though they do not have feet, I find this metaphor very moving) and they were the Bathynomus?  Unlike humans, they have lived for millions of years, most of those years without change. 

Please stay posted as I continue my essay on the Bathynomus Giganteus