sea spider, possibly Pallenopsis sp. or Ammothea clausi

Several species of Pallenopsis sea spiders have been collected in the Ross Sea [1].

Antarctic and subantarctic sea spiders comprise 251 species, representing 21.5% of worldwide species, with 101 species endemic to Antarctica and 60 endemic to subantarctic areas [3]. Sea spiders are also called pycnogonids. Sea spiders are exclusively marine and mostly bottom dwelling (benthic) [2]. Adult sea spiders either suck the juices from soft-bodied invertebrates or browse on hydroids and bryozoans. Male sea spiders carry cemented egg clutches gathered from females until hatching and often after hatching in the larval stages [2]. Since sea spider larvae are not planktonic, sea spider dispersal is slow and intermittent leading to the development of many endemic species among shallow-water sea spiders [2].

1: Antarctic and Subantarctic Pycnogonida : Nymphonidae, Colossendeidae, Rhynchothoraxidae, Pycnogonidae, Endeididae, and Callipallenidae. CA Child Antarctic Research Series Volume 69, Biology of the Antarctic Seas 24. Washington DC : American Geophysical Union, 1995; 2: Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Pycnogonida (Sea Spiders). CA Child.. Wellington : National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, 1998. NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 109; 3: Polar Biology 24:941-945, 2001

Text ©Peter Brueggeman. Identification provided by C Allan Child. Photographs ©Norbert Wu. Photographs may not be used in any form without the express written permission of Norbert Wu. Norbert Wu no longer grants permission for uncompensated use of his photos under any circumstances whatsoever; want more info?