Bathylepeta wadatsumi is a record-breaking limpet occupying volcanic rock deep below the surface of the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
If the moniker sounds familiar, it may be because the species was named after “Large Monk” Wadatsumi, a character from the manga show ONE PIECE, thanks to its (relatively-speaking) generous size. Researchers described it for the first time in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.
This particularly hardy sea snail is notable for its ability to withstand the frigid temps and crushingly high pressure of the deep ocean. It is found 5,922 meters (nearly 20,000 feet) below sea level, making it the deepest any true limpet has been spotted. Indeed, it is this deep-sea habitat that has allowed the limpet to evade human detection for such a long time.
Until now, there were two other species from the genus Bathylepeta (B. linseae and B. laevis), discovered in Antarctica and Chile respectively. Specimens have ...
