An expedition by scientists from the University of Aberdeen and NIWA has unearthed supergiant amphipods. These  dwarf the standard 2-3cm deep sea amphipod. The supergiants found were both the biggest specimen ever caught and the deepest they had been found.They are more than 20 times larger than their smaller relatives.

"It just goes to show that the more you look, the more you find," Ashley Rowden from NIWA in Wellington said."For such a large and conspicuous animal to go unnoticed for so long is just testament to how little we know about life in New Zealand's most deep and unique habitat."

Supergiant amphipods have only ever been  found once before  and that was in the 1980s near Hawaii 

The team was on a mission to recover the deep sea snailfish, which had not been captured since the early 1950s.Scientists don't yet know if they are related.

Cameras and traps at almost 700metres to almost 10,000 metres meant that the scientists saw and caught  things they had not seen on previous expeditions.

"At the moment the traps came on deck we were elated at the sight of the snailfish as we have been after these fish for years," team leader Alan Jamieson from the University of Aberdeen said."However, seconds later I stopped and thought 'what on earth is that?' whilst catching a glimpse of an amphipod far bigger than I ever thought possible."

But actually the amphipods were not actually what the Aberdeen University expedition was seeking.

They were actually seeking a deep sea snailfish, which had been found only once before in 1952.Nobody has caught one since "Jamieson said . Yet among the giant amphipods were seven snailfish. Jamieson said it "was a pretty good day !"