Giant Antarctic sea spiders breathe really strangely

[rangerrebew]

Giant Antarctic sea spiders breathe really strangely
These creepy-crawlers absorb oxygen through their skin and pump blood with their guts
Ilima Loomis
Aug 14, 2017 — 7:00 am EST


Tim Dwyer

Sea spiders just got weirder. The ocean arthropods pump blood with their guts, new research shows. It’s the first time this kind of circulatory system has been seen in nature.

It’s been no secret that  sea spiders are bizarre — and more than a little creepy. Full grown, one could easily stretch  across a dinner plate. They feed by sticking their proboscis into soft animals and sucking out the juices. They don’t have much room in their bodies, so their guts and reproductive organs reside in their spindly legs. And they don’t have gills or lungs. To cope, they absorb oxygen through their cuticle, or shell-like skin. Now scientists can add an especially odd circulatory system to this list.

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/giant-antarctic-sea-spiders-breathe-really-strangely

[Polly Ticks]

Don't click the article, Polly.  Don't do it.  You'll regret it.  DON'T click the article!

Spoiler alert:  Polly clicks the article.



Darn it, Polly, I TOLD you not to look.

[Suppressed]

Darn it, Polly, I TOLD you not to look.

LOL!  I kinda liked them!

Sea spiders are colorful and very slow. Moran even finds them kind of cute. Like cats, these animals spend a lot of time grooming themselves. And the males care for the eggs. To do this, they shape the eggs into “donuts” and wear them on their legs while crawling around.

[Polly Ticks]

LOL!  I kinda liked them!

I'll admit they're interesting with the whole weird anatomy and all, but the whole creepy crawly thing  .... *shudder*