The Supergiant Amphipod: The Deepest Amphipod Alive

selim12 March 6, 2024 0 Comments

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The supergiant amphipod, you heard it right!!! It’s the deepest living amphipod found alive in the total darkness deep in the sea. It’s also the largest of them all.

Table of Contents

History Of The Supergiant Amphipod:

The first specimen were collected at the end of the 19th in the abyssal plain.

Taxonomy and Classification:

A. Scientific classification of supergiant amphipods:

They belong to the family Alicella gigantea, it’s called also a Alicella.

B. Unique features and adaptations:

This specific amphipod has more cubiform accessory lobes than the regular species. This allows them to absorb more oxygen in the deep which explains the gigantism of this creature.

C. Comparison to other amphipod species:

While other species reach 5-10 centimeters in long, the giant amphipod can reach 34 cm, triple its related family species.

Supergiant Amphipod Habitat and Distribution:

They are found in abyssal plains of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as from the Kermadec Trench in the southwest Pacific. They live in great depths starting in the hadal zone from 6km deep to up to the bottom of the ocean at 10,3 km.

Physical Characteristics:

This creature may reach 34 centimeters length but the average length is between 72.5 to 141.0 millimeters. They can weigh between 4.2 grams to up to 45 g. Their bodies are designed to support extreme pressure as there are no bones.

Supergiant Amphipod Feeding Behavior and Diet:

The primary food source is the whale fall which descends to the bottom of the ocean, and all other dead animals carcasses.

Behavior And LifeSpan:

This amphipod spend most of the time at the bottom of the sea, captured at 1720 m. They are rarely encountered by humans or other animals as they are solitary creatures.To see them in their natural habitat, a highly designed submersible is required to descend to greater depths for the encounter. They can live from 1-2 years.

Supergiant Amphipod Reproduction and Life Cycle:

Females lay eggs at each molt, but they have no sperm storage so basically the male and female must get close during the female ovulation to guarantee that the fecundation occurs.

What Makes Supergiant Amphipod Widhstand Such High Pressure:

To survive in freezing temperatures and 10000-atmosphere pressure, this amphipod must have something special: the body is filled with aluminum in the outer layer of the exoskeleton making a hard-shaped structure to produce the exoskeleton needed for survival.