Callipallene pilosuspedes, a species of sea spider newly discovered in the Salish Sea by UBC researchers. Photo credit: Cormac Toler-Scott.
Press:
Sing Tao Daily, Sept 24, 2026: Google Translate: "A new species of sea spider has been discovered in Vancouver; it has hairy legs, red eyes, and a unique three-lipped appearance".
IFL Science, Sept 24, 2026: Red-Eyed Sea Spiders With Hairy Legs And Three-Lipped Mouths Discovered In The Salish Sea, The First In Almost 100 Years
BBC Wildlife, Sept 24, 2026: Hairy-legged, red-eyed sea spider discovered in the Salish Sea
CBC, Sept 24, 2026: Red-eyed, parasitic, hairy-legged sea spiders of the Salish Sea go under the microscope in Vancouver
Oceanographic Magazine, Sept 23, 2026: Meet the hairy-legged, red-eyed sea spiders new to science
CHEK News, Sept 23, 2026: ‘Red-eyed’: Two new sea spider species discovered in B.C., first in nearly 100 years
Daily Hive, Sept 23, 2026: 'Stuff of nightmares': New spiders discovered near Vancouver
Popular Science, Sept 23, 2026: Sea spider with hairy feet, three lips, and red eyes found in Canada
CTV, Sept 23, 2026 - video: ‘Nightmare fuel’: 2 sea spider species discovered off B.C. coast
Vancouver is Awesome, Sept 23, 2026: 'More nightmare fuel awaits': 2 new sea spider species found near Vancouver
UBC Science, Alex Walls, September 23, 2026: Hairy-legged red-eyed sea spiders discovered in the Salish Sea
If you’re swimming in the Salish Sea late at night and feel a skittering along your calves, tiny hairy feet tip-tapping their way higher and higher towards your face, don’t worry, it’s probably just the stuff of nightmares: hairy-legged, red-eyed sea spiders newly discovered by UBC researchers.
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Abstract
Pycnogonids, or sea spiders, form a clade of strictly marine arthropods with a global distribution and a predominantly benthic lifestyle. In the Salish Sea of North America, sea spider diversity is poorly characterized, and morphological and molecular data for many species are lacking, limiting our understanding of this group. Using scanning electron microscopy and molecular data, we present morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses of seven species of coastal sea spider from the Salish Sea ecoregion, representing the first comprehensive scientific study of pycnogonids in this area. We redescribe Achelia alaskensis (Cole, 1904), Achelia gracilipes (Cole, 1904), Anoplodactylus erectus (Cole, 1904), Anoplodactylus viridintestinalis (Cole, 1904), and Phoxichilidium quadradentatum (Hilton, 1942a, 1942b). Additionally, we describe two new species of sea spider, Tanystylum kiixin sp. nov., which closely associates with the hydroid Plumularia setacea (Linnaeus, 1758), and Callipallene pilosuspedes sp. nov. Finally, to help minimize ambiguities regarding the identification of the species herein, we provide a dichotomous key for pycnogonids living in the Salish Sea and along the west coast of Vancouver Island.