Yep - you read that right - Caribbean Sea Spider (Andoplodactylus sp). I'm sure to some folks, it comes as no surprise that I managed to find spiders underwater too...

Ok - it isn't a true spider, but it is somewhat related. Both spiders and sea spiders are in the subphylum (the classification above class) Chelicerata. I've been fascinated with them ever since I first saw them listed in my identification, and so when I spotted one during a night dive, I instantly knew what I was seeing. I unfortunately did not come back with the best photos, but I'll explain that a bit more later.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/250th sec at f/16. Image Stabilization on. ISO 400. Ikelite Housing and Port and Ikelite 161 Strobe in TTL Mode. Raw conversion in Photoshop CS5.

I know - I'm sure for most folks those photos look like a while lot of nothing - if you can even figure out what you're looking for at all. In general, the sea spider just looks like a jumble of legs to be honest, but like I said - I knew instantly what I was looking at and was thrilled with my find. I only spent about three minutes photographing it, and the conditions were absolutely horrible (I'll explain more on that tomorrow) and so I will have to continue searching for another one to get a decent photo.

But for now, I get to show everyone that there are spiders in the ocean too... :)

- Bill