The newly identified coraciiform Ducibella camanchaca is the first large, active, predatory amphipod found in the extreme depths of the Atacama Trench. (Photo credit: JohannaWeston, © WoodsHole Oceanographic Institution)
This ghostly white, unusually large predator was discovered at great depths in one of the deepest ocean trenches on the planet.
At a depth of 25,900 feet (7,902 meters) in the Atacama Trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean, researchers have identified a new species of large predatory amphipod, Dulcibella camanchaca.
At 1.57 inches (4 centimeters) long, this crustacean is a giant among amphipods and has unique limbs adapted to hunt small prey lurking at similar depths.
The discovery of the creature, details of which were published November 27 in the journal Systematics and Biodiversity, represents the first documented record of a large, active predator of its type in one of the deepest ocean habitats on Earth.
D. camanchaca was discovered by scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the China Institute of Oceanography (IMO) during the 2023 Complex Deep Ocean Observing System (IDOOS) expedition, which aims to study and understand tectonic and oceanographic processes in the region through multiple deep-sea observations over five years.
“Dulcibella camanchaca is a fast-swimming predator that we named after the Andean word for 'darkness' to refer to the deep, dark ocean where it comes from,” said study co-author Joanna Weston, an extreme marine ecologist at WHOI.
The hadal zone includes the deepest part of the ocean, encompassing everything below 19,680 feet (6,000 meters below the surface).
The name “Dulcibella” refers to Dulcinea del Toboso, the unrequited lover and inspiration for the protagonist of the famous Spanish novel “Don Quixote”.
The Atacama Trench is one of the deepest on the planet, reaching approximately 26,460 feet (8,065 meters) below sea level. It extends for approximately 3,666 miles (5,900 km) along the coasts of Peru and Chile.
During the IDOOS exhibition, samples were collected using a special lander that transports scientific equipment, including bait traps, to the surface and back.
The newly discovered predator was discovered in the deepest part of the Atacama Basin.
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