Giant sea spider

Classification

Arthropoda › Pycnogonida › Colossendeidae

1. Kingdom Animalia animals
   • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
   • Cells have no cell walls
   • Most can move at some stage of life
2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
   • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
   • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
   • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
3. Clade Protostomia protostomes
   • In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
   • Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
   • Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
4. Clade Ecdysozoa molting animals
   • Grow by shedding their outer layer (molting, ecdysis)
   • No cilia used for movement
   • Includes arthropods and nematode worms
5. Phylum Arthropoda arthropods
   • Hard outer skeleton made of chitin (exoskeleton)
   • Jointed legs and a segmented body
   • The largest animal phylum by species count
6. Subphylum Chelicerata chelicerates
   • First pair of appendages are pincers or fangs (chelicerae)
   • No antennae
   • Includes horseshoe crabs, sea spiders, and spiders
7. Class Pycnogonida sea spiders
   • Sea spiders: tiny body with very long legs
   • Gut and reproductive organs extend into the legs
   • Feed by sucking fluids through a proboscis
8. Family Colossendeidae giant sea spiders
   • Large sea spiders, often deep or polar
   • Leg span can exceed 50 cm
9. Genus Colossendeis
   • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
10. Species Colossendeis megalonyx Giant sea spider