The Clarion-Clipperton Zone has been where researchers have identified a number of deep-sea creatures unknown to science until now. All of them live at depths greater than 5 kilometers.
They are xenophiophores , a type of giant unicellular protozoa and although we have known them since the late 19th century, we do not know much about these specimens, largely due to the extreme depths in which they reside.
“These four new species and two new genera have increased the number of xenophophores described in the CCZ chasm to 17, with many more known but not yet described,” says marine ecologist Andrew Gooday of the National Center for Oceanography in the UK. “This part of the Pacific Ocean is clearly a hotspot for xenophiophor diversity.”
Among the new discoveries is the new genus Abyssalia , of which two species of Abyssalia were found: A. foliformis and A. sphaerica.
Of the other new genus identified as Moanammine, Moanammina semicircularis and Psammina tenuis were found.
” We see them everywhere on the seafloor in many different shapes and sizes. They are very important members of the rich biological communities that live in the CCZ,” explains oceanographer Craig Smith of the University of Hawai’i Mānoa. “Among other things, they provide microhabitats and potential food sources for other organisms.”
Reference: Xenophyophores (Rhizaria, Foraminifera), including four new species and two new genera, from the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone (abyssal equatorial Pacific). Andrew J. Goodayab Jennifer M. Durdenac Maria Holzmannd Jan Pawlowskide fCraig R. Smithc DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejop.2020.125715
