The supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea may inhabit over half of the world’s oceans
The deep-sea amphipod Alicella gigantea Chevreux, 1899, currently known as the world’s largest amphipod, inhabits depths of the lower abyssal and upper hadal zones. Historically, it has been sampled or observed in situ infrequently relative to other deep-sea amphipods, suggesting low population dens...
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| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241635 |
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| author | Paige J. Maroni Yakufu Niyazi Alan Jamieson |
| author_facet | Paige J. Maroni Yakufu Niyazi Alan Jamieson |
| author_sort | Paige J. Maroni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The deep-sea amphipod Alicella gigantea Chevreux, 1899, currently known as the world’s largest amphipod, inhabits depths of the lower abyssal and upper hadal zones. Historically, it has been sampled or observed in situ infrequently relative to other deep-sea amphipods, suggesting low population densities and providing a sense of rarity. Consequently, little is known about the demography, genetic variation and population dynamics of A. gigantea, with only seven studies having published DNA sequence data. As more records emerge from across the vastness of the deep sea, and from depths beyond most conventional sampling, there is an ever-growing body of evidence to show that A. gigantea should be considered far from rare. In this study, we compile 195 records of A. gigantea from 75 locations worldwide and use two mitochondrial genes and one nuclear gene (16S, COI and 28S) to explore their distribution patterns across all oceans and discuss the species history throughout geological time. Our results show that this species may occupy around 59% of the world’s oceans, indicating that the infrequently collected supergiant is not ‘rare’ but instead represents a widely distributed deep-sea amphipod with an exceptional global range. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-09a2f2a8b5ba48c38876f4a591d3c2d6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-09a2f2a8b5ba48c38876f4a591d3c2d62025-08-20T03:47:41ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-05-0112510.1098/rsos.241635The supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea may inhabit over half of the world’s oceansPaige J. Maroni0Yakufu Niyazi1Alan Jamieson2School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaMinderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaMinderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaThe deep-sea amphipod Alicella gigantea Chevreux, 1899, currently known as the world’s largest amphipod, inhabits depths of the lower abyssal and upper hadal zones. Historically, it has been sampled or observed in situ infrequently relative to other deep-sea amphipods, suggesting low population densities and providing a sense of rarity. Consequently, little is known about the demography, genetic variation and population dynamics of A. gigantea, with only seven studies having published DNA sequence data. As more records emerge from across the vastness of the deep sea, and from depths beyond most conventional sampling, there is an ever-growing body of evidence to show that A. gigantea should be considered far from rare. In this study, we compile 195 records of A. gigantea from 75 locations worldwide and use two mitochondrial genes and one nuclear gene (16S, COI and 28S) to explore their distribution patterns across all oceans and discuss the species history throughout geological time. Our results show that this species may occupy around 59% of the world’s oceans, indicating that the infrequently collected supergiant is not ‘rare’ but instead represents a widely distributed deep-sea amphipod with an exceptional global range.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241635AmphipodaAlicellidaedeep seageographic rangeabyssalhadal |
| spellingShingle | Paige J. Maroni Yakufu Niyazi Alan Jamieson The supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea may inhabit over half of the world’s oceans Royal Society Open Science Amphipoda Alicellidae deep sea geographic range abyssal hadal |
| title | The supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea may inhabit over half of the world’s oceans |
| title_full | The supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea may inhabit over half of the world’s oceans |
| title_fullStr | The supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea may inhabit over half of the world’s oceans |
| title_full_unstemmed | The supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea may inhabit over half of the world’s oceans |
| title_short | The supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea may inhabit over half of the world’s oceans |
| title_sort | supergiant amphipod alicella gigantea may inhabit over half of the world s oceans |
| topic | Amphipoda Alicellidae deep sea geographic range abyssal hadal |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241635 |
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