The predator identified in the Atacama Trench is Dulcibella camanchaca, a newly described amphipod crustacean—not a fish or a giant sea monster. It is nearly 4 centimeters long and was collected 7,902 meters below the surface off northern Chile. Researchers describe it as an active predator that captures smaller amphipods.
What is Dulcibella camanchaca?
Dulcibella camanchaca is a predatory amphipod, a small crustacean. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) described it in 2024 as a new genus and species, and as the first large, active predatory amphipod known from the extreme depths of the Atacama Trench. “Large” is relative to amphipods: the animal is nearly 4 centimeters long, not large by everyday standards.
WHOI reports that it uses specialized raptorial appendages to seize smaller amphipods. The available account does not identify its prey species or establish that it is an apex predator.
Where and how deep was it found?
The Atacama, or Peru-Chile, Trench lies in the eastern South Pacific off northern Chile. The four specimens used to describe the species were recovered at 7,902 meters—about 7.9 kilometers—below the ocean surface. WHOI says the trench itself reaches depths exceeding 8,000 meters.
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How did researchers collect and identify it?
Collection at the seafloor
The specimens were collected during a 2023 Integrated Deep-Ocean Observing System expedition aboard the R/V Abate Molina. An untethered lander carried scientific equipment, including baited traps, down to the seafloor and back. The discovery therefore came from recovered specimens, not from a human-piloted submersible observing the animals at that depth.
Evidence for a new genus and species
Researchers at Universidad de Concepción examined the recovered amphipods using morphological and genetic analyses. WHOI reports that both DNA and physical characteristics supported identifying them as not only a new species but also a new genus. The specimens were collected in 2023; the species description was published in 2024.
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Why does an active predator matter in a trench?
Food is limited in hadal trench habitats, and the WHOI account highlights D. camanchaca as an active predator within the distinctive native community of the Atacama Trench. Its documented prey are smaller amphipods. This finding adds a predator to the known picture of life there, but four collected individuals do not establish how abundant the species is or how much influence it has on the wider ecosystem.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the name mean?
WHOI quotes study co-lead author Dr. Johanna Weston, a hadal ecologist, explaining that “camanchaca” means “darkness” in languages of peoples from the Andes region, referring to the dark ocean where the animal preys. The explanation is attributed to Weston rather than asserted as a universal linguistic definition.
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Sources
- WHOI: “Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and partners discover new ocean predator in the Atacama Trench”, December 9, 2024.
- Weston et al., “A new large predator (Amphipoda, Eusiridae) hidden at hadal depths of the Atacama Trench,” Systematics and Biodiversity (2024).
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