The biggest known type of
amphipoda
is thought to be present in 59% of the Earth’s most extreme deep-sea areas, as revealed by a recent investigation carried out by the University of Western Australia.
This elusive, large-sized amphipod species was initially identified during the 1800s, with the biggest examples recorded back then being just 34 centimeters long. Although this length may seem modest,
Dr. Paige Maroni
mentions that’s incredibly large for this kind of organism.
She told
Cosmos
:
“It’s simply amazing when you encounter them, as amphipods might be the largest and toughest predators in the deep sea. Typically, most other deep-sea amphipods reach a maximum length of around 20 centimeters, if they get that big.”
Amphipods are tiny crustaceans resembling shrimp, scattered worldwide with generally modest dimensions.
The latest research indicates that merely 0.0001% of the ocean floor has been visually documented, and the results imply that this colossal amphipod species may be considerably more prevalent than earlier believed.
(QG – Source: The Daily Star — Image: © Unsplash)
