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April 28, 2021: Sea Spiders

Two sea spiders, or pyncogonids, were seen making their way across a bamboo coral during a dive on the southwest ridge of Carondelet Reef within the Phoenix Islands Protected Area as part of the Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific Marine Protected Areas expedition.

Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific MPAs. Download larger version (jpg, 443 KB).

Two sea spiders, or pyncogonids, were seen making their way across a bamboo coral during a dive on the southwest ridge of Carondelet Reef within the Phoenix Islands Protected Area as part of the Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific Marine Protected Areas expedition. The site explored during the dive exhibited a high degree of biological diversity, with scientists documenting at least 32 species of corals, over 21 species of other invertebrates, and 5 species of fishes; watch video of this “Coral Hotspot.”