Well… after being excited by having found that previous Sea Spider, and thinking it was just a lucky find, I managed to not only repeat the achievement, but to do so in rather dramatic fashion. I found two different species of sea spiders on the same dive – and then I did the same thing again the following day!
You can clearly see how these are different species as other than general shape, they look nothing alike. The first one is probably the same species as the one from the previous post, though these ones are not quite as bright blue as that other one. And since the one in the first photo here is missing a leg, it definitely is not the same individual found two days in a row.
However, the second species might be the same individual as it was found on the exact same Black Solitary Tunicate (Ascidia nigra). The velvety black surface of the tunicate really made it difficult for the camera to focus, but I did eventually get some decent shots and some video (which I’ll share later). I have no idea if the sea spider is feeding on the tunicate or if it has a symbiotic relationship with it or if it is just purely coincidence, but I’ll be making a point to investigate those tunicates a little more closely in the future!
