I had talked about seaspiders not long ago. Here is a new one. Sea spiders are found all over the world, from coastal tropical waters to the poles. They are also found at depths as great as 7,000 m, though they are far more common in shallower waters. They range in size from a few millimetres leg-span to giants with a leg-span of 75 cm. These creatures are not spiders per definition although many have also 4 pairs of walking legs although some species may have 5 or even 6 pairs.
The new species name mirim is derived from the Tupi-Guarani language, meaning small, in reference to its small size. Colleagues found it along the northeastern coast of Brazil.
For the experts: A new species of Anoplodactylus was discovered in coral reefs from the State of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. A. mirim sp. nov. is very small and is characterized for having 3 teeth on the cheliphores and a very small cement gland. It belongs to the A. pygmaeus complex, which contains very small species. A. batangensis is recorded for the first time along the Brazilian coast, and A. eroticus is recorded for the first time in the South Atlantic. We record the fifth known case of gynandromorphism, the fourth for Anoplodactylus, based on two specimens of A. eroticus.
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