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According to James K. Lowry and Kate Dempsey, giant deep-sea isopods are classified based on their size as follows:
Giant (up to 15 cm in length)
Bathynomus affinis Richardson, 1910
Bathynomus brucei Lowry & Dempsey, 2006.
Bathynomus bruscai Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus decemspinosus Shih, 1972
Bathynomus doederleini Ortmann, 1894
Bathynomus immanis Bruce, 1986
Bathynomus kapala Griffin, 1975
Bathynomus obtusus Magalhães & Young, 2003
Bathynomus pelor Bruce, 1986
Supergiants (up to 50 cm in length)
Bathynomus crosnieri Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus giganteus Milne Edwards, 1879
Bathynomus keablei Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus kensleyi Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus lowryi Bruce & Bussarawit, 2004
Bathynomus miyarei Lemos de Castro, 1978
Bathynomus propinquus Richardson, 1910 (nomen dubium)
Bathynomus richeri Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus propinquus was described based on a single juvenile male specimen from the Isla Verde Strait in the central Philippines, which is considered an important strait in the Philippines—a region regarded as the center of global marine biodiversity.
In 2006, Lowry & Dempsey classified the species Bathynomus propinquus as a “nomen dubium,” since the examination of a single juvenile specimen did not allow for a determination of whether it belonged to the giant or supergiant groups.
Both scientists therefore concluded that Bathynomus propinquus is unidentifiable and that it is unlikely its identity will ever be clarified.
In 2026, Shane T. Ahyong, Conni M. Sidabalok, Chien-Hui Yang, and Peter K. L. Ng concluded that Bathynomus propinquus is a valid species.
The very detailed description of Bathynomus propinquus can be found in the paper “Bathynomus propinquus Richardson, 1910, a valid species of supergiant deep-sea isopod from the Philippines, with notes on B. wilsoni Ahyong, 2025 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae).”
Reference:
Ahyong ST, Sidabalok CM, Yang C-H, Ng PKL (2026)
Bathynomus propinquus Richardson, 1910, a valid species of supergiant deep-sea isopod from the Philippines, with notes on B. wilsoni Ahyong, 2025 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae).
ZooKeys 1286: 17–39. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1286.200843
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Giant (up to 15 cm in length)
Bathynomus affinis Richardson, 1910
Bathynomus brucei Lowry & Dempsey, 2006.
Bathynomus bruscai Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus decemspinosus Shih, 1972
Bathynomus doederleini Ortmann, 1894
Bathynomus immanis Bruce, 1986
Bathynomus kapala Griffin, 1975
Bathynomus obtusus Magalhães & Young, 2003
Bathynomus pelor Bruce, 1986
Supergiants (up to 50 cm in length)
Bathynomus crosnieri Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus giganteus Milne Edwards, 1879
Bathynomus keablei Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus kensleyi Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus lowryi Bruce & Bussarawit, 2004
Bathynomus miyarei Lemos de Castro, 1978
Bathynomus propinquus Richardson, 1910 (nomen dubium)
Bathynomus richeri Lowry & Dempsey, 2006
Bathynomus propinquus was described based on a single juvenile male specimen from the Isla Verde Strait in the central Philippines, which is considered an important strait in the Philippines—a region regarded as the center of global marine biodiversity.
In 2006, Lowry & Dempsey classified the species Bathynomus propinquus as a “nomen dubium,” since the examination of a single juvenile specimen did not allow for a determination of whether it belonged to the giant or supergiant groups.
Both scientists therefore concluded that Bathynomus propinquus is unidentifiable and that it is unlikely its identity will ever be clarified.
In 2026, Shane T. Ahyong, Conni M. Sidabalok, Chien-Hui Yang, and Peter K. L. Ng concluded that Bathynomus propinquus is a valid species.
The very detailed description of Bathynomus propinquus can be found in the paper “Bathynomus propinquus Richardson, 1910, a valid species of supergiant deep-sea isopod from the Philippines, with notes on B. wilsoni Ahyong, 2025 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae).”
Reference:
Ahyong ST, Sidabalok CM, Yang C-H, Ng PKL (2026)
Bathynomus propinquus Richardson, 1910, a valid species of supergiant deep-sea isopod from the Philippines, with notes on B. wilsoni Ahyong, 2025 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae).
ZooKeys 1286: 17–39. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1286.200843
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
