The natural world is full of wonders, exemplified by a marine parasite in Japan that astonishingly resembles a piece of… salmon sushi.
In a Twitter post, aquarium staff identified this creature as belonging to a group of elongated, flat crustaceans with multiple layers of armor that can live both on land and underwater.
This peculiar creature, scientifically known as isopod, is one of the common “residents” at Aquamarine Fukushima, an aquarium park in Iwaki, Japan.
They belong to the order Isopoda, within the family Rocinela, which includes over 40 species found in nature. Fossils of species from this order have been discovered dating back to the Carboniferous period, over 300 million years ago.
While many carnivorous crustaceans feed on dead or decaying animals, these “sushi pieces” tend to live parasitically, creating “cozy homes” on the backs or inside the internal organs of other marine creatures.
Originally, this species has a somewhat dull brown color. To achieve the unique coloration seen in the image above, they rely on a special adaptation mechanism that allows them to change color based on their host’s body.
“Because they are parasitic creatures, their color can easily change depending on the fish they are attached to,” said Mai Hibino, a manager at Aquamarine Fukushima.
The appearance and patterns of this creature immediately remind us of a piece of sushi.
It remains unclear how this species is distributed in nature, as they are very difficult to find. According to documents, their habitat is typically very deep on the ocean floor, usually between 800 to 1,200 meters.
Additionally, they can “reside” on any marine organism, from fish to shrimp to sea turtles… Therefore, it is even more uncertain which creature the isopod in this article has attached to in order to achieve such a unique color.
