New Sea Spiders Found
Researchers Discover Two New Sea Spider Species in the Salish Sea
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The findings were published in the journal *Organisms Diversity & Evolution* and represent only the 20 known sea spider species in the Salish Sea.
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Lead author Cormac Toler-Scott said he began the research because he wanted to understand how sea spiders are affected by climate change and human disturbance, but found that the lack of basic knowledge about which species live in the Salish Sea made that difficult.
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The researchers encountered the new species during dives at roughly 60 feet (18 metres) near Vancouver, adding detail about the conditions in which at least some of the specimens were found.
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The name *Tanystylum kiixin* has two cultural and linguistic references: it honors an ancient Indigenous village site near the discovery location, while “kiixin,” pronounced “kee-hin,” derives from a word associated with the sound of crashing ocean waves.
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Sea spiders are far less documented than terrestrial spiders: roughly 1,400 sea spider species are known compared with about 50,000 terrestrial spider species, partly because marine species are small and difficult to locate.
Scientists at the University of British Columbia have found two new sea spider species in the Salish Sea, the first discoveries there in nearly 100 years. Discover Magazine reports that Callipallene pilosuspedes has red eyes, hairy feet, and a distinctive sensory-covered proboscis, while Tanystylum kiixin has shorter limbs and was found carrying tiny parasites. The findings bring the total known sea spider count in the Salish Sea to just 20 species.
These discoveries matter because researchers lacked basic knowledge about which sea spider species live in the region, making it hard to study how climate change and human activity affect them. Newsy Today notes that the research was published in the journal Organisms Diversity & Evolution, helping establish a baseline for understanding local ocean biodiversity and monitoring future threats.
Ancient Creatures With Strange Bodies and Behaviors
Sea spiders are not true spiders but ancient marine relatives of spiders, scorpions, and horseshoe crabs. They possess unusual biology: they breathe through their skin, use sucking proboscises to feed on tiny organisms, and can reproduce in surprising ways. In many sea spider species, males — not females — carry developing eggs until they're ready to hatch, a rare trait in the animal kingdom.
The two new species show distinct characteristics. Gizmodo reports that Callipallene pilosuspedes uses dexterous ovigers (leg-like appendages) for grooming, while Tanystylum kiixin's name honors Indigenous heritage near the discovery site. The word "kiixin," pronounced "kee-hin," comes from a term associated with the sound of crashing ocean waves.
Collectors Found the Spiders During Deep-Sea Dives
Researchers discovered both species during dives at roughly 60 feet (18 meters) deep near Vancouver, off the British Columbia coast. Newsy Today explains that divers collected specimens from several sites around the region and confirmed them through physical examination and DNA analysis. The work required careful study because sea spiders are extremely small and difficult to locate underwater.
Sea Spiders Remain Vastly Less Known Than Land Spiders
Only about 1,400 sea spider species have been documented worldwide, compared with roughly 50,000 terrestrial spider species. This gap exists because ocean spiders are tiny and live far below the surface where research is expensive and challenging. AOL notes that the new discoveries highlight how much researchers still don't know about marine ecosystems.
Lead researcher Cormac Toler-Scott started studying sea spiders to understand climate change impacts on them. But he quickly realized the Salish Sea had no comprehensive species inventory — making baseline research impossible. These two new finds help fill that gap and set the stage for future investigations into how these creatures respond to ocean warming and human disturbance.
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