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_13317 | - |
| Hgig_13318 | TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENT TC3 TRANSPOSASE-LIKE PROTEIN |
| Hgig_13319 | - |
| Hgig_13320 | SERINE PROTEASE INHIBITOR, SERPIN |
| Hgig_13321 | - |
| Hgig_13322 | - |
| Hgig_13323 | GLYPICAN |
| Hgig_13324 | GLYPICAN |
| Hgig_13325 | - |
| Hgig_13326 | NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE-RELATED |
| Hgig_13327 | RIBONUCLEASE H1 |
| Hgig_13328 | SLIT RELATED LEUCINE-RICH REPEAT NEURONAL PROTEIN |
| Hgig_13329 | ANTIGEN BSP, PUTATIVE-RELATED |
| Hgig_13330 | BTB/POZ DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 9 |
| Hgig_13331 | - |
| Hgig_13332 | A1 CISTRON SPLICING FACTOR AAR2-RELATED |
| Hgig_13333 | GEMIN2 |
| Hgig_13334 | GAMMA-BUTYROBETAINE HYDROXYLASE-RELATED |
| Hgig_13335 | - |
| Hgig_13336 | - |
