Facts about Deep-sea Amphipod
- 07
Deep-sea amphipods possess compound eyes with up to 4,000 ommatidia that can detect bioluminescent flashes from potential prey organisms in complete darkness.
- 06
Phronima, a barrel-eyed deep-sea amphipod, hollows out transparent salps to create a protective gelatinous barrel in which it raises its young.
- 05
The lysianassoid amphipods dominate scavenging communities in the Mariana Trench at 11,000 meters depth, arriving at food falls within 24 hours despite living in complete darkness.
- 04
Some deep-sea amphipod species exhibit bioluminescence, producing light through chemical reactions to attract prey or communicate in the absolute darkness of abyssal zones below 1,000 meters.
- 03
Amphipods in the hadal zone possess specialized pressure-resistant proteins that allow their cell membranes to remain flexible at crushing depths exceeding 10,000 meters below the ocean surface.
- 02
Scavenging amphipods respond to food odors within minutes and can detect a single amino acid molecule in concentrations as low as one part per billion in deep-sea environments.
- 01
Measuring up to 34 centimeters long, the giant deep-sea amphipod Alicella gigantea inhabits ocean trenches at depths exceeding 7,000 meters.