It is called "darkness." Scientists have unexpectedly discovered a unique predator at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean
A predator new to science has been identified in the southeastern Pacific Ocean in the depths of the Atacama Trench. The alien-like creature was caught at a depth of 7902 meters.
The predator was named Dulcibella camanchaca, which means "darkness" in the languages of the Andean region. This name is perfect for an animal that hunts in the darkest depths of one of the deepest depressions on the planet, IflScience writes.
To catch new interesting species, scientists set bait traps at the bottom of the Atacama Trench, but they did not expect to see an amphipod predator here. After all, this is a part of the ocean called the Hadal Zone, which is shrouded in complete darkness and subject to crushing pressure. The Hadal zone is the deepest part of the Earth's oceans, where few creatures live, TheSun writes.
The Atacama Trench off the coast of Chile is one of the deepest underwater canyons in the world and stretches for 5900 km in length.
Source: Johanna Weston, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
"This is an incredible piece of deep-sea ecology. There's always something new to learn and discover, and now we have another piece of the puzzle of the Atacama Trench ecosystem," said lead author Johanna Weston of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Co-author Carolina González of the Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía emphasized that Dulcibella is "perfectly adapted to such an extreme environment." Despite the lack of eyes, this creature can rely on other senses to detect food in the pitch black at the bottom of the ocean.
"It has a slender and agile body, which probably allows it to move easily on the seabed. Its front legs are large and strong, pincer-like, which are probably ideal for catching and holding prey. In addition, it has strong teeth in its jaws for cutting and grinding food, and its legs are likely adapted to move across different types of substrates," Gonzalez added.
The discovery of such a large and previously undocumented predator in the Atacama Basin allows us to learn more about this strange ecosystem, where species must compete with extreme depths, pressure, and darkness, scientists say.
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