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Environmental Science and Disaster Management / 'Supergiant' crustacean
« on: February 06, 2012, 04:03:36 PM »
A huge crustacean has been found lurking 7km down in the waters off the coast of New Zealand. The creature - called a supergiant - is a type of amphipod, which are normally around 2-3cm long.
Alan Jamieson, from the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab, said: "It's a bit like finding a foot-long cockroach." This amphipod was far bigger than I ever thought possible."
“Start Quote
It just goes to show that the more you look, the more you findâ€
The strange animals were found using a large metal trap, which had been equipped with a camera, housed in sapphire glass to keep it safe from the high pressures of the deep sea. The creatures are small, but extremely active, and seem to thrive in this place where the pressure is one thousand times greater than at sea level.
Seven specimens were caught in the trap and nine were captured on film by the team from the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland, and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), in New Zealand.
Alan Jamieson, from the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab, said: "It's a bit like finding a foot-long cockroach." This amphipod was far bigger than I ever thought possible."
“Start Quote
It just goes to show that the more you look, the more you findâ€
The strange animals were found using a large metal trap, which had been equipped with a camera, housed in sapphire glass to keep it safe from the high pressures of the deep sea. The creatures are small, but extremely active, and seem to thrive in this place where the pressure is one thousand times greater than at sea level.
Seven specimens were caught in the trap and nine were captured on film by the team from the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland, and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), in New Zealand.