News Animals

These deep-sea spiders give off an otherworldly glow

The bioluminescence is mostly confined to the spiders' legs, suggesting a dietary trigger

Eight long sea spider legs glow blue in the dark.

This eerie glow comes from the lanky legs of one of the biggest giant sea spiders (Colossendeis tasmanica) that haunt an abyss off Australia.

Jérôme Mallefet

By Joshua Rapp Learn

In the deep, dark Australian Abyss, what’s visible can be scarier than the unseen. There, giant sea spiders with glowing 25-centimeter-long legs may scuttle like disembodied apparitions.