Pantopoda
Pantopoda, also known as sea spiders, are a class of marine arthropods within the subphylum Chelicerata. They are characterized by their elongated, spindly legs, often with a small, centralized body. Sea spiders are found in a variety of marine environments, from shallow coastal areas to the deep sea.
Common Names
Pantopods are commonly known as sea spiders. However, they are not closely related to true spiders, which belong to the class Arachnida.
Characteristics
Sea spiders have a distinctive body structure that is highly specialized for their lifestyle as scavengers and predators. They typically have eight legs, though some species may have fewer, and these legs can be very long, sometimes exceeding the length of the body by several times. The body is usually small, with a central cephalothorax (head and chest) and a small abdomen.
Other key characteristics include:
- No antennae or mandibles: They lack the typical head appendages found in other chelicerates.
- Proboscis: They possess a long, flexible proboscis, used to suck fluids from prey.
- Chelicerae: They have small, pincer-like chelicerae, located at the mouth, for manipulating food.
- Ovipositor: Males typically have a pair of ovigers on the first pair of legs, used for carrying eggs.
Environments
Sea spiders are found in a variety of marine environments worldwide, from the intertidal zone to the deep sea. They typically live among seaweeds, sponges, corals, and other invertebrates. Their diet consists primarily of soft-bodied invertebrates, such as cnidarians, bryozoans, and polychaetes, which they feed on by sucking out fluids with their proboscis.