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Big Shrimp

WHOI biologist Tim Shank examines a big shrimp captured in a trap 6,000 meters (about 3.75 miles) below the sea surface. It was collected during an NSF-funded cruise to study the ultra-deep hadal zone at the Kermadec Trench northeast of New Zealand. More than 9,100 meters deep, Kermadec is the fifth deepest trench in the ocean. This species of shrimp has been difficult to capture, so the researchers made full use of the specimen. Tissue and fluid samples from one side of its body will be sent to several labs around the world for analysis of its DNA, metabolism, and adaptations to pressure, and the other side of its body was left intact for preservation at a museum. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)