Whoa! New Shrimp Species Found in Ireland Can Eat Whales!

Researchers in the United Kingdom discovered two new species of shrimp that feed on whales, seabirds and other marine animals. The unique animals were found off the south-west coast of Ireland, below the Atlantic Ocean.

A team of researchers from the National Oceanographic Centre (NOC), based in the UK, discovered the shrimp using a basic mackerel trap that captured 40,000 amphipods. Silicon Republic wrote that the two species, Paracallisomaidioxenos and Haptocallisomalemaretelive in waters going as deep as 4,500 meters in the northern Atlantic Ocean.

The shrimp only measured 3mm long and usually travel in swarms. The Journal wrote that the crustaceans were scavengers, descending upon the carcasses of dead marine animals like whales, seabirds and fish on the ocean floor. The shrimp proceed to strip and devour the carcasses of dead creatures underwater. The findings of the study were published in Zootaxa.

The research group was led by Dr. Tammy Horton. They noted how similar creatures were found off the coast of Angola in west Africa during environment assessments of the oil and gas industry.

The Latin names given to the two new species of shrimp were taken from Roger Bamber, a taxonomist who recently died. Bamber was well-known in the science of description and classified and named various animals and plants during his life.

“I gave the species name ‘lemarete’ to one of the amphipods because it translates from Greek to ‘bold and excellent’, which is the motto on Roger Bamber’s coat of arms,” Dr. Horton explained.

“I chose this name because it is an accurate description of Roger, as well as being a little cryptic. Roger always put a lot of thought into the names he gave species, such as the tanaid species he named after a many-legged creature in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld,” he added in the same report by Silicon Republic.

Horton said that amphipods are incredibly diverse and adaptable. There are about 10,000 species known to science at present and these thrive in all marine environments, from shallow waters to the deepest trenches of the ocean. Amphipods can live on fresh water and land. The study further described two groups of closely-associated species. “Haptocallisoma” means “to grasp” in Greek, because the animal can cling to their food while feeding.

The research is part of the current study by the NOC of deep-sea environment.

A video of a pig carcass being eaten by the unique shrimp was also shown.