Researchers have discovered 24 previously unknown species of deep-sea amphipods in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the central Pacific Ocean, including an entirely new superfamily. The findings, detailed in a ZooKeys special issue published on March 24, highlight previously unknown branches of life in one of Earth's least explored ecosystems. The work advances efforts to catalog biodiversity amid growing interest in deep-sea mining.
A team led by Dr. Anna Jażdżewska of the University of Lodz and Tammy Horton of the National Oceanography Centre identified the 24 new amphipod species across 10 families during a 2024 taxonomy workshop at the University of Lodz's Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone, spanning six million square kilometers between Hawaii and Mexico, hosts predators and scavengers that push the known depth limits for these crustaceans, with several genera recorded deeper than ever before. Key discoveries include the new family Mirabestiidae and superfamily Mirabestioidea, plus genera Mirabestia and Pseudolepechinella, along with first molecular barcodes for rare species. This contributes to the International Seabed Authority's Sustainable Seabed Knowledge Initiative and its 'One Thousand Reasons' project to describe 1,000 new species by decade's end. Dr. Horton stated, 'To find a new superfamily is incredibly exciting, and very rarely happens so this is a discovery we will all remember.' She added that with over 90% of CCZ species unnamed, each description aids understanding of the ecosystem. Dr. Jażdżewska emphasized collaboration: 'This was a truly collaborative process that allowed us to achieve the ambitious goal of describing more than 20 species new to science within a year.' Collaborators hailed from the Natural History Museum in London, Canadian Museum of Nature, NIWA, University of Hamburg, Senckenberg, and University Museum of Bergen. Species names honor individuals like the leads—Byblis hortonae, Thrombasia ania, Byblisoides jazdzewskae—and concepts such as 'apricity' for warmth felt during the Polish winter workshop. At the current rate, eastern CCZ amphipods could be fully cataloged in a decade, informing conservation and policy.
