Giant Amoebas Found in the Deep Sea
In the deep Mariana Trench, our planet's deepest part of the ocean, scientists have just discovered giant amoebas that have adapted to the most extreme of conditions.
Xenophyophores are a type of marine protozoan that are found in the deepest parts of the world's oceans. They can grow as long as four inches, which makes them one of the largest out of single-celled organisms.
In a July voyage earlier this year, National Geographic engineers and researchers of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from U.C. San Diego ventured to the Pacific Ocean to explore the deep sea. Equipped with dropcams, the team placed these cameras to document more about the xenophyophores. The dropcams were HD cameras with lights placed inside glass bubbles and have the ability to withstand those high pressures in extreme depths.
Their amazing ability to adapt makes the organism susceptible to a life of darkness, low temperatures, and high pressures in the deepest parts of the sea. Scientists believe this cell discovery expands our knowledge of biodiversity in marine life, especially adaptability in such extreme habitats.
Researchers found other mysterious organisms we don't know very much about in the expedition. The deepest jellyfish will also be further studied after this trip. In the near future, scientists hope to do more than capture images with dropcams. One day, they want to be able to bring some of these animals back to the laboratory setting and observe them under replicated environments.
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