Hirondellea gigas is a species of amphipod crustacean found in the hadal zone of the Pacific Ocean, particularly in the Mariana Trench. It is adapted to extreme deep-sea environments, living at depths exceeding 10,000 meters where pressures are immense and temperatures are near freezing. This species feeds on organic matter that sinks to the ocean floor, playing a crucial role in the deep-sea ecosystem as a scavenger. Its unique adaptations, such as a lightweight exoskeleton and specialized enzymes, allow it to survive and thrive in one of the most extreme habitats on Earth.
Animalia (Kingdom); Arthropoda (Phylum); Crustacea (Subphylum); Multicrustacea (Superclass); Malacostraca (Class); Eumalacostraca (Subclass); Peracarida (Superorder); Amphipoda (Order); Amphilochidea (Suborder); Lysianassida (Infraorder); Lysianassidira (Parvorder); Lysianassoidea (Superfamily); Hirondelleidae (Family); Hirondellea (Genus); Hirondellea gigas (Species)
Tetronychia gigas Birstein & M. Vinogradov, 1955
1. Birstein J A, Vinogradov M E. Pelagicheskie gammaridy (Amphipoda, Gammaridea) Kurilo-Kamchatskoi Vpadiny[J]. Akademiya Nauk SSSR, Trudy Instituta Okeanologii, 1955, 12: 219-257. (Birstein et al., 1955)
Philippine Trench from Philippine Sea, Mariana Trench from North Pacific Ocean and Kuril-Kamchatka Trench
| Species | Phylum | Common Name | Ecosystem | Depth | Habitat | NCBI Taxonomy ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hirondellea gigas | Arthropoda | - | Deep sea | 6,800-11,000 | Mariana Trench in the northwestern Pacific Ocean | 1518452 |
| Genome Assembly | Genome Size | Assembly level | Released year | WGS accession | Submitter | BioProject | BUSCO completeness (%) | Scaffold/Contig N50 (kb) | GC content (%) | Repeat Rate (%) | Gene Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 13.92Gb | Chromosome | 2025 | CNA0142381 | - | CNP0005374 | 89.34 | 458,700/466.1 | 38.8 | 72.75 | 27,881 |
| Title | Journal | Pubmed ID |
|---|---|---|
| The amphipod genome reveals population dynamics and adaptations to hadal environment | Cell | 40054448 |
| Gene ID | Description |
|---|---|
| Hgig_12657 | ZINC FINGER PROTEIN |
| Hgig_12658 | - |
| Hgig_12659 | UNCHARACTERIZED |
| Hgig_12660 | UPF0598 PROTEIN C8ORF82 |
| Hgig_12661 | FIBRONECTIN TYPE-III DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN-RELATED |
| Hgig_12662 | RNA EXONUCLEASE REXO1 / RECO3 FAMILY MEMBER-RELATED |
| Hgig_12663 | - |
| Hgig_12664 | 40S RIBOSOMAL PROTEIN S8 |
| Hgig_12665 | - |
| Hgig_12666 | REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN |
| Hgig_12667 | CELL DIVISION CONTROL PROTEIN 6-RELATED |
| Hgig_12668 | - |
| Hgig_12669 | CARBONIC ANHYDRASE |
| Hgig_12670 | - |
| Hgig_12671 | - |
| Hgig_12672 | - |
| Hgig_12673 | - |
| Hgig_12674 | SERINE/THREONINE-PROTEIN KINASE NEK |
| Hgig_12675 | - |
| Hgig_12676 | TRYPSIN-RELATED |
