Colossendeidae is a family of sea spiders (class Pycnogonida). This family includes more than 100 species distributed among six genera. These sea spiders inhabit the deep sea mostly but are also found in shallower waters, especially in Antarctic and Arctic waters.

Description

Sea spiders in this family can grow to giant sizes as adults, far larger than any other sea spiders. The largest sea spider, Colossendeis colossea, can reach a leg span of 70 cm. Like most sea spiders, species in this family have four pairs of legs, except for three species (Decolopoda australis, D. qasimi, and Pentacolossendeis reticulata) with five leg pairs, and one species (Dodecolopoda mawsoni) with six leg pairs. Sea spiders in this family have palps with 9 or 10 articles, with the first two basal segments very short. The ovigers have 10 articles, and each oviger ends in a strong terminal claw. These sea spiders feature compound oviger spines arranged in fields or rows on a well formed strigilis. Both palps and ovigers are present in both males and females. The proboscis is long, usually longer than the trunk. The trunk and legs are usually glabrous. The legs are long and have no auxiliary claws, and all legs feature gonopores.

Taxonomy

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