Pycnogonids Spiders of the Deep

Pyconogonids are abundant on many sulfide structures in the vent fields within the caldera of Axial Seamount. These 8-legged anthropods are commonly found in areas where venting has stopped, leaving variably oxidized edificies. Here, they are associated with snails an a small scale worm ~ 1" in legth. Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/ISS; Dive R1836; V15.

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