Worldwide distribution and depth limits of decapod crustaceans (Penaeoidea, Oplophoroidea) across the abyssal-hadal transition zone of eleven subduction trenches and five additional deep-sea features

Abstract Decapod crustaceans are conspicuous members of marine benthic communities to at least 7,700 m deep. To assess the bathymetric extent of this taxonomic group, baited landers were deployed to across the abyssal-hadal transition zone of 11 subduction trenches spanning the Pacific, Atlantic, Southern, and Indian oceans and additional sites. Decapods were dominated by penaeid shrimps (superfamily Penaeoidea), in particular Benthesicymus Spence Bate, 1881 and Cerataspis Gray, 1828, with the former being found deeper. Benthesicymus cf. crenatus Spence Bate, 1881 was observed in the Kermadec, Mariana, New Hebrides, Puerto Rico, Peru-Chile, Tonga, San Cristobal, and Santa Cruz trenches, plus the South Fiji Basin and the Wallaby-Zenith Fracture Zone. They were not recorded in the Abaco Canyon, Agulhas Fracture Zone, Java Trench, or any of the polar locations. Cerataspis cf. monstrosus Gray, 1828 was present in the Kermadec, Mariana, New Hebrides, Puerto Rico, and Java trenches, the Abaco Canyon, Agulhas Fracture Zone, Wallaby-Zenith Fracture Zone and the South Fiji Basin, but absent from the Tonga, San Cristobal and Santa Cruz trenches. Hymenopenaeus nereus (Faxon, 1893) was only recorded in the Peru-Chile Trench. Unidentified species belonging to superfamily Oplophoroidea were observed to a maximum depth of 6,931 m. Decapods are thus are primarily represented at hadal depths by penaeoid shrimps, consistently present at tropical and temperate latitudes to ~7,700 m, while absent from equivalent depths in polar regions. Their maximum depth may be limited due to hydrostatic pressure, while potentially affected by temperature and oxygen in some instances. Muscle samples of three specimens from 6,000 m (Mariana and Kermadec trenches) were found to have high levels of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO; 260 mmol kg–1), the major piezolyte, a protectant against hydrostatic pressure, in other deep-sea organisms. We speculate that physiological limits to TMAO concentration may prevent them from inhabiting the greatest hadal depths.