| Alicella gigantea | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Amphipoda |
| Family: | Alicellidae |
| Genus: | Alicella Chevreux, 1899 |
| Species: | A. gigantea |
| Binomial name | |
| Alicella gigantea Chevreux, 1899 [1] |
|
Alicella gigantea is the largest species of amphipod ever observed, with some individuals reaching up to 340 millimetres (13 in) long.[2] Formerly included in the family Lysianassidae, a new family, Alicellidae, was erected in 2008 for Alicella and five related genera.[3] The species only lives at great depths; the first specimens were collected at the end of the 19th century from the Madeira Abyssal Plain, and subsequent specimens have been found in other abyssal plains of both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.[4] One specimen was found in the stomach of a black-footed albatross, but is thought to have been dead before it was eaten.[4]