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Title: Spawning and larval development of Colossendeis megalonyx, a giant Antarctic sea spider
For the first time, we describe spawning and development of giant sea spiders in the family Colossendeidae. In all other sea spiders whose reproductive traits are known, the male gathers fertilized embryos from the female and broods them until hatching and often beyond; however, no brooding colossendeid has ever been seen, in over 140 years of study and observation. In both the laboratory and field, we observed that females release gametes during mating and the male, instead of brooding them, appears to attach them to the substrate where they develop and hatch as free-living, tiny protonymphon larvae.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1745130
PAR ID:
10553379
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Ecology
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Ecology
Volume:
105
Issue:
3
ISSN:
0012-9658
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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