University of British Columbia researchers discover new sea spider species

Researchers from the University of British Columbia have discovered two new species of sea spiders in the Salish Sea, located between Canada and the United States. This marks the first such description in the region in nearly a century.

The specimens were collected between September 2023 and August 2024 during dives reaching depths of 18 meters near Quadra Island, Vancouver, Bamfield, and Victoria. The two species have been identified through DNA sequencing and physical analysis.

The first species, named Callipallene pilosuspedes, is characterized by hairy legs, red eyes, and a short proboscis with claws used for capturing food. The second species, Tanystylum kiixin, was named after an ancient Indigenous village. This species possesses smaller, less agile appendages, which researchers noted left the creature covered in small parasites.

Lead researcher Cormac Toler-Scott noted that while new invertebrate species are discovered relatively often, sea spiders remain poorly understood. Only about 1,400 species of sea spiders have been described, a small fraction compared to the 50,000 known land spider species.