Spiders are commonplace all over the world. So, apparently, are sea spiders. A recently discovered sea spider haven off Scotland’s coast is bringing attention to the eight-legged relatives of our familiar web-spinners.
According to the BBC the spiders have been found in or near the Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area, which lies west of the Shetland Islands. They were found at a depth of 1,000 meters, over 3,200 feet.
Sea spiders belong to the family Pycnogonida, land spiders are arachnids and crabs and lobsters are crusatceans. Spiders and sea spiders are more closely related to each other than to crustaceans. The three do have a very distant ancestor in common.
According to Britannica they do have things in common with land spiders, except silk.
“Most pycnogonids have four pairs of long legs attached to four trunk segments. The body size ranges from 3 millimetres (1/8 inch) in tropical shallow-water species to 50 centimetres (20 inches) in deepwater species. The mouth, a triangular opening at the end of an elaborate suctorial appendage (proboscis), is often longer and larger than the body. Adult pycnogonids either suck the juices from soft-bodied invertebrates or browse on hydroids (phylum Cnidaria) and bryozoans. The four simple eyes are often lacking in the deepwater species. The digestive and reproductive systems have branches that go to the legs.”
Scientists are frequently making amazing discoveries in the deep seas. In addition to the sea spider haven these include a gigantic ice fish hatchery and a massive “fountain of life” in the Weddell Sea.