Scientists Document Amphipods Hitchhiking 3,155 Meters Deep on Giant Sea Spiders
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · Sep 17
Scientists Document Amphipods Hitchhiking 3,155 Meters Deep on Giant Sea Spiders
3 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Sep 17
Summary
Two deep-sea encounters off Chile captured Mesopleustes abyssorum amphipods tightly clinging to Colossendeis sea spiders at 3,155 meters and 2,698 meters, 225 kilometers apart.
That repeat pattern suggests more than chance: researchers say the crustaceans may be using the spiders for phoresis—transport by another animal—in a habitat where food, mates and movement are hard to secure.
M. abyssorum is a weak swimmer with no planktonic larval stage, yet it has been recorded across the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Southern oceans at depths of about 690 to 3,500 meters.
The observations also hint at a mating role, with adult male-female pairs seen together in both cases and a third female in one encounter carrying eggs.
Researchers say two sightings are too few to prove deliberate behavior, but the findings revive a 1927 report and point to an overlooked survival strategy in the deep ocean.