abstract
| - A wharf roach (Ligia exotica), sometimes referred to as a sea louse (plural: sea lice), is a crustacean of the order Isopoda, family Ligiidae. It has a pair of long antennae and large compound eyes on its head, and seven pairs of legs. It lives on seashores and reefs and feeds on algae and dead organisms. The wharf roaches that inhabited the Big Shell were genetically engineered to help break down spilled oil, representing a promising form of bio-remediation. They were created in a lab to help deal with the frequent oil leaks that occurred in the Big Shell. Their genes had been spliced with those from the oil-eating Pseudomonas bacterium. The roaches produced an enzyme in their bodies that broke down oil, enabling them to absorb and eat it. These roaches were the reason why the Big Shell itself was oil-free. During the Big Shell Incident in 2009, a wharf roach entered the clothing of Solid Snake after he secretly infiltrated the facility's deep sea dock. When Snake, disguised as Navy SEAL Iroquois Pliskin, later took rest following an attack in the transformer room, the roach left his person. The roach's presence aroused the suspicions of Raiden, who had earlier been told by Pliskin that he had entered the Big Shell via helicopter. A swarm of roaches later blocked the path of Fortune in the deep sea dock, though they parted for her as she approached them. Raiden later made use of a coolant spray to ward off a swarm of roaches, allowing him to escort an entomophobic Emma Emmerich to safety.
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