Anemone Sea Spider (Pycnogonium spp.)
Anemone Sea Spider (Pycnogonium spp.)
Common name: sea spider
Scientific name: Pycnogonium spp.
Locations: middle-lower shore under rocks and seaweed
Seasonality: available all year
Colors: yellow, red, purple, brown, black, white
Size: 1/4”
Collected: by hand
Quantity: sold by the each
Tidepool Tim says, “Sea spiders as big as dinner plates have been found here in the Gulf of Maine! These are a much smaller variety. Although they have eight legs, they aren’t arachnids. They’re mostly legs--they even breathe through the surface of their legs, and store their reproductive organs there. What’s amazing about sea spiders is that their heart doesn’t pump their blood. The job is done by their guts.”