Size

Length: 4cm (1.5")

Recognition Characters

Superficially resemble true spiders. Spider is gangly and are almost all legs with only a tiny narrow body.

Color

Black or dark purple

Habitat & Depth

Intertidal to 274m. Found in fouling communities on docks, pilings, and rocks. Offshore commonly found on bryozoans and hydroids.

Distribution at GRNMS

Common. Usually found on the hydroid, Eudendrium carneum, their favorite prey.

Geographic Range

Bay of Fundy south to Florida, also West Indies

Behavior & Notes

Spiders are carnivores and use their proboscis to suck juices from bryozoans and hydroids. Also known as the "Lentil Sea Spider."

Synonyms

References

Meinkoth 1981, Ruppert and Fox 1988