New Discovery of Deep Sea 'Spiders' Is Unlike Anything We've Seen Before

New Discovery of Deep Sea 'Spiders' Is Unlike Anything We've Seen Before

Three newly-discovered species of deep sea 'spiders' farm methane-eating bacteria on their own bodies in a symbiosis quite unlike anything seen before. Unlike animals like ourselves, who are fed by a solar-powered food chain, those that live in the deep sea have to get creative with their energy sources. Sunlight is scattered and absorbed as it travels through ocean water, and never reaches depths beyond 1000 meters (around 3300 feet). And yet, …

Scientists discover first sea spiders powered by methane-fed...

They don't bite prey — they graze bacteria. In the deep sea, sea spiders survive by harvesting methane-eating microbes. Sericosura spiders are the first of their kind caught feeding on methane-fueled microbes. Methane is a menace to Earth's climate, but to tiny spiders in the pitch-black depths of the ocean, it's fuel for life. In a bizarre twist of nature, scientists have discovered three previously unknown species of sea spiders thriving aroun…

Meet the Newfound Species of Deep-Sea Spiders Fueled by Methane-Munching Microbes

As Jurassic Park’s Dr. Ian Malcolm put it, “life, uh, finds a way,” and that truism appears to apply to three newfound species of sea spider that thrives in environments devoid of both sunlight and oxygen by farming the methane-eating microbes that coat the creatures’ shells. These species of sea

Methane-fueled sea spiders discovered

Scientists have discovered three new and unusual species of marine spiders in the deep waters off the western coast of the United States and astonishingly, these spiders survive on methane gas, the same gas considered hazardous to Earth’s atmosphere. These newly discovered spiders are part of a unique biological symbiosis. Their bodies host a special type of bacteria that converts methane and oxygen into sugars and fats, providing nutrition to t…

Ocean Planet Exploration: Methane-powered Sea Spiders - Astrobiology

Bianca Dal Bó, a biology major from Berkeley, has spent the last five years delving into the mysteries of deep-sea life. Guided by Professor of Biology Shana Goffredi, she researches invertebrates living in the unique ecosystem of the Del Mar methane seep off the Southern California coast—and now, she’s bringing that research to a wider […] The post Ocean Planet Exploration: Methane-powered Sea Spiders appeared first on Astrobiology.