Sea spiders have the scientific name Pantopoda, belonging to marine arthropods, present all over the world, most commonly in the Mediterranean, Caribbean Sea, and Arctic Ocean. There are more than 1,300 species of sea spiders in the world, but what they have in common is that they are all small in size, only about 1 – 10mm. Called a sea spider, this species is not a spider and has no relation to spiders. Perhaps because of their similar shapes, humans call them that.

Sea spiders have three or four pairs of legs, and their head and thorax are fused together as one. Below the mouth there is a proboscis, used like a needle to suck fluid from prey. While most animals use their hearts to pump blood throughout their bodies, sea spiders use their intestines to do so.

Scientists believe that sea spiders have been around for about 500 million years. They may belong to an ancient clade of animals, distant relatives of the arachnid class, which includes spiders and scorpions.

A special thing is that the sea spider Pycnogonum litorale has the ability to completely regenerate an amputated body part. It could be the hind limbs, parts of the intestines, reproductive organs or even the anus. This magical ability helps sea spiders easily escape predators. When discovering this, researchers were extremely surprised and saw it as a premise in regenerating human body parts.

According to Arango – Marine biologist at the Australian Museum, sea spiders in Antarctica are more abundant and diverse. They are larger and more bizarre than sea spiders elsewhere. Indeed, scientists have recorded that the large sea spider (Colossendeis megalonyx) in the deep waters of Antarctica is about 2cm long and has a leg span of up to 70cm