At depths of no more than 18 meters below the surface of the sea, marine biologists were searching for creatures that most divers might miss. But among the rocks, two small, spider-like creatures emerged, one with red eyes, three lips, and legs covered in bristles.
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This was not a scene from a horror movie, but a new scientific discovery in the waters of the Salish Sea, on the west coast of Canada.
But the hair wasn't the strangest thing about it; it had red eyes, a triangular-shaped trunk ending in three lips, covered with sensory hairs that helped it explore its surroundings, and it also had specialized limbs to use for cleaning its body.
This species has shorter limbs than the first, and while the difference may seem minor, it completely changes its life. Its shorter legs hinder its ability to constantly clean itself. Over time, dirt and organic matter accumulate, creating a breeding ground for small parasites. The sea spider then becomes a home for these smaller creatures.
Cormac Toller-Scott, a professor in the Botany and Zoology departments at the University of British Columbia, describes the situation in an official university press release as "an ecosystem within an ecosystem within an ecosystem."
Although these creatures belong to what is known as the sea spider, they are not spiders in the strict sense, as Cormac explains, since they belong to a group of marine arthropods that are evolutionarily related to spiders and scorpions, but represent a completely different branch.
These animals date back about 500 million years, and they may be very small, some not exceeding one centimeter in length, while other species reach more than half a meter in size, and some have up to 12 legs.
The strangeness doesn't end with their appearance. Sea spiders don't have a respiratory system like our lungs or fish gills; they obtain oxygen through their body surface. Even more bizarrely, their reproductive process occurs. The female lays her eggs on her legs, and the male then retrieves them with specialized appendages called ovipositors, attaching them to his legs with special secretions. He then carries them with him until they develop. In the world of sea spiders, the father is the one who carries and cares for the eggs.
Regarding the discovery of the two species, the statement explains that they were discovered in the Salish Sea in northwestern Canada during diving operations conducted by researchers near Vancouver. However, the significance of the discovery lies not only in the creatures' unusual nature; these two species are the first new sea spiders to be scientifically described from the Salish Sea in nearly 100 years.
This discovery came about incidentally as part of Scott's research project to understand the impact of climate change and human disturbances on marine invertebrates in the Salish Sea.
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