This colossus of a vlok lobster is not nearly as rare as thought

In the darkness of the deep sea, a shiny white body lights up above the ocean floor. Long antennas, many small legs and a thick armored body – an appearance that was exceptionally from the first discovery in 1899. Since then, scientists considered the Vlokreft Alicella Gigantea Like a rare species. New research shows that that is not correct.

With his nickname Supergiant Amphipod is Alicella Gigantea A colossus among the crustaceans (crustacea). This Vlokreef is no less than 34 centimeters long – his nephews are often no larger than a few millimeters. According to researchers, this is the largest vlok lobster in the world.

Compared to other Vlokreftjes, scientists saw Alicella Gigantea seldom. « We have been calling this species rare for so long. We call everything in the deep sea rare, » Paige Maroni of the University of Western Australia told the magazine New Scientist.

By diving deeper into the ocean than is possible with conventional techniques, proof grows that Alicella Gigantea anything but rare. Genetic analyzes show that the Supergiant Amphipod Prevents in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean, up to almost nine kilometers deep – deeper than Mount Everest is high.