Deep-sea isopods come in all shapes and sizes, and Henry Knauber is excited to see all of them. In this paper, he and his coauthors describe five new species and redescribe another as part of a large expedition to examine the biodiversity of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench region of the northwest Pacific Ocean. These new species are part of what he calls his “god complex,” a cluster of closely-related cryptic species he has spent much of his scientific career distinguishing and naming after Greek gods and mythical characters. Listen along as Henry describes a paper that is a culmination of years of work, and brings you deep into the sea to examine these amazing creatures in a new way.

Henry Knauber’s paper “Across trench and ridge: description of five new species of the Haploniscus belyaevi Birstein, 1963 species complex (Isopoda, Haploniscidae) from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench region” is in volume 101 issue 2 of Zoosystematics and Evolution.

It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.137663

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Henry Knauber - Transcript

New Species: Haploniscus apaticus, Haploniscus erebus, Haploniscus hades, Haploniscus kerberos, and Haploniscus nyx.

Episode image credit: Henry Knauber

Check out Henry’s German Science Communication Platform called "Abyssarium" on Instagram: @abyss.arium

Also take a look at @oceanspecies on instagram for more work like Henry’s

Read part of Henry’s master’s thesis on the delineation of the Haploniscus belyaevi species complex: https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2022.2099477

A joyful deep-sea specimen encounter: coverage of the first footage of a Colossal Squid and an interview by Science Friday: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/colossal-squid-video/

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Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)

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