Deepest-living xenophyophore

Xenophyophores are unicellular lifeforms similar to amoebae that live in deep-sea environments. In July 2011, scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California, USA, using a deep-sea camera called a "dropcam", discovered examples of these creatures at depths of 10.6 km (6.6 miles) within the Sirena Deep of the Mariana Trench, off the coast of the Philippines. They grow to lengths of approximately 10 cm (4 in). The results of the expedition were revealed in October 2011. Xenophyophores are currently categorised as a specialized group of Foraminifera. Please note: contrary to the sources below, these are not amoebas. They behave in a similar way, but they are not identical.