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Pantopoda
Sea spiders, also called Pantopoda or pycnogonids (pie-snow-gone-IDZ), are marine arthropods of class Pycnogonida. They are cosmopolitan, found especially in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, as well as the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans. There are over 1300 known species, ranging in size from 1 to 10 millimetres (0.039 to 0.394 in) to over 90 cm (35 in) in some deep water species. Most are toward the smaller end of this range in relatively shallow depths, however, they can grow to be quite large in Antarctic waters. Although "sea spiders" are not true spiders, or even arachnids, their traditional classification as chelicerates would place them closer to true spiders than to other well-known arthropod groups, such as insects or crustaceans. However even this is in dispute, as genetic evidence suggests they may even be an ancient sister group to all other living arthropods
This specimen was found carrying Eggs. Size of this specimen is around 1.5cm, but very scrawny.
Spotted on Jul 1, 2012
Submitted on Apr 19, 2014
2 Comments
Thanks, @Lauren. Sometimes, I do get lucky :)
But its mostly about spending more time and having the patience to look for those tiny critters :D
Wow so neat! You spot the neatest things!