vellushiuskarvat
Vellushiuskarvat is a marine organism that has been reported in the deep trenches of the Pacific Ocean, specifically within the Mariana Trench's lower slope retreat zone. The species was first described in 2021 by a team of oceanographers from the Oceanic Institute of New Zealand, who collected a single specimen during a bathymetric survey at a depth of 8,000 metres. The formal taxonomic designation for the species is *Vellushiuskarvat* sp. nov., placed within the family Vellushiuscaridae based on morphological similarities to other virusid-like taxa.
The animal's common name derives from Latin roots: *vellus* meaning "velvet" and *shiuskarvat* an onomatopoeic reference
Vellushiuskarvat actively feeds on detritus and micronutrients, using its flicking arm to stir up sediments and
The species has not been considered for any conservation status, largely due to its singular, undocumented