New Unknown Creature Discovered in the Depths of the Pacific Ocean
By Abdul Moeed
December 11, 2024
The newly discovered crustacean Ducibella camanchaca is the first large, active predatory amphipod from the extreme depths of Atacama Trench. Credit: Johanna Weston, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
In a breakthrough discovery, scientists have identified an unknown creature living nearly five miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. This creature, Dulcibella camanchaca, was found at a depth of 25,900 feet (7,902 meters) in the Atacama Trench, an underwater chasm located in the eastern Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Peru and Chile.
The discovery in the journal Systematics and Biodiversity marks an important step in understanding life in one of the Earth’s most extreme environments, the Hadal zone. This zone includes ocean depths below 19,680 feet (6,000 meters), where darkness is total and pressure is intense.
The tiny predator resembles a shrimp and measures 1.57 inches (4 centimetres) long. While small by regular standards, it is unusually large compared to other amphipods — the group of small crustaceans to which it belongs. Researchers say its specialized body parts are designed to hunt smaller prey in these deep, dark waters.
Discovery and identification
The expedition responsible for this finding was part of the five-year Integrated Deep-Ocean Observing System (IDOOS) project. This international effort is led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in the U.S. and Chile’s Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía (IMO).The project focuses on exploring the least-known depths of the ocean to uncover new species and better understand deep-sea ecosystems.
Researchers used a specially designed lander vehicle equipped with baited traps to collect the specimens. After retrieval, four individual creatures were frozen and subjected to genetic analysis.
The DNA tests confirmed that Dulcibella camanchaca is not only a new species but also belongs to an entirely new genus — a higher classification level that groups similar species.
Name Dulcibella camanchaca steeped in meaning
The name Dulcibella pays tribute to Dulcinea del Toboso, the unrequited love and muse of Don Quixote, the main character of Miguel de Cervantes’ famous Spanish novel. The second part of the name, camanchaca, is derived from Andean languages, meaning “darkness” or “dense fog,” reflecting the creature’s shadowy habitat.Johanna Weston, a co-lead researcher from WHOI, explained that the name captures the mystery and remoteness of the deep-sea environment where the creature thrives.
The biodiversity of the Hadal zone
The Atacama Trench, reaching depths of 26,460 feet (8,065 meters), is one of the deepest trenches on Earth. Stretching 3,666 miles (5,900 kilometres) along the Pacific coasts of Peru and Chile, it lies beneath nutrient-rich surface waters.Despite the trench’s isolation from other deep-sea environments, it hosts various unique species that have adapted to survive extreme pressure, cold temperatures, and total darkness. “More discoveries are expected as we continue to study the Atacama Trench,” said Carolina González, a researcher at IMO and co-lead author of the study.
A fragile ecosystem under threat
Scientists believe further exploration could reveal new species like this unknown creature in the Pacific Ocean and provide deeper insights into how these delicate ecosystems respond to human-induced threats like pollution and climate change. The deep ocean, though remote, is not immune to environmental pressures from human activities.The IDOOS project aims to understand these hidden ecosystems better and protect them. As González pointed out, the more we know about the deep ocean, the better equipped we are to protect it. This discovery underscores how much of the deep sea remains unexplored and highlights the importance of continued scientific exploration.
that thing looks creepyit better stay on the ocean floor, before somebody from JBO fukks it, cooks it, and eats it
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some stuff is better left unknown
