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Sea spiders live in many different oceanic regions of the world, from Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific coast of the United States, to the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea, to the north and south poles. They are most common in shallow waters, but can be found as deep as 7,000 metres (23,000 ft), and live in both marine and ...
Sea spiders of the family Pycnogonidae are recognisable by their stubby legs, rough-surfaced exoskeleton and the significant reduction of cephalic appendages. Chelifores (feeding pincers) and palps (sensory limbs) as seen in most other sea spiders are completely absent after postlarval metamorphosis, instead they using only their proboscis to suck juices from their cnidarian prey.
Pycnogonum litorale feeds exclusively on Cnidaria, with adults feeding on sea anemones, while juveniles feed on hydroids, such as Clava multicornis.The proboscis is inserted into the prey and some body fluid is sucked out; the sea spider can be considered a parasite rather than a predator, as the food source is not killed; sea anemones that are targeted include Actinia equina, Anemonia viridis ...
Spiders have developed several different respiratory anatomies, based either on book lungs or on tracheae. Mesothele and mygalomorph spiders have two pairs of book lungs filled with haemolymph, where openings on the ventral surface of the abdomen allow air to enter and oxygen to diffuse in and carbon dioxide to diffuse out.
The spiders travel by "ballooning", sending up a strand of silk that catches the wind and carries them through the sky. All it would take for a spider to get to Ohio is a favorable wind current.
Most ballooning journeys end after just a few meters of travel, although depending on the spider's mass and posture, [16] a spider might be taken up into a jet stream. The trajectory further depends on the convection air currents and the drag of the silk and parachute to float and travel high up into the upper atmosphere. [17]
Most colossendeids can grow to giant sizes as adults, far larger than any other sea spiders. The largest sea spider, Colossendeis colossea, can reach a leg span of 70 cm, [4] whereas the subfamily Hedgpethiinae includes tiny species with leg span of less than 1 cm. [5] Like most sea spiders, colossendeids usually have four pairs of legs, except for three species, Decolopoda australis, D ...
Colossendeis is a genus of sea spider (class Pycnogonida) belonging to the family Colossendeidae. [1] These sea spiders are typically found in the deep sea. This genus includes the largest pycnogonids, with leg spans frequently ranging from 40 to 50 cm (16-20 in). [2] The largest sea spider, Colossendeis colossea, can reach a leg span of 70 cm ...