In an ancient hot spring haunt of Incan rulers, researchers discovered a new species of tiny, shrimp-like scavengers known as amphipods thriving at record temperatures that can cook other crustaceans to death.
Although called freshwater shrimps, amphipods are not true shrimps. Typically, they dwell in cool aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats. So Japanese and Peruvian researchers were stunned when unidentified Hyalella species showed up during a hot spring biota survey of Baños del Inca (Baths of the Inca) near the ancient Inca city of Cajamarca.
“Though the amphipod is a taxon with a great diversity of habitats, the discovery of a new species from a previously unexpected high-temperature environment is most surprising,” said study corresponding author Ko Tomikawa, professor at Hiroshima University’s (HU) Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
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