In a groundbreaking deep-sea discovery, scientists have identified three new species of sea spiders that appear to survive by feeding on methane-fueled bacteria—marking the first time this bizarre diet has ever been observed in sea spiders.

The creatures, part of the Sericosura genus, were found crawling near methane seeps off the U.S. West Coast, thousands of feet below the surface. At those depths, sunlight doesn’t reach, and life relies on chemical energy instead. Here, bacteria thrive by consuming methane bubbling up from beneath the seafloor—methane that is also a potent greenhouse gas. These bacteria, scientists believe, have formed a mutually beneficial partnership with the newly discovered sea spiders.

The Sea Spider’s Unusual Diet

Rather than hunting or trapping prey, these translucent, 1-centimeter-long sea spiders may “farm” bacteria directly from their own bodies. According to lead researcher Shana Goffredi, a biology professor at Occidental College, the bacteria colonize the spiders’ exoskeletons. In turn, the spiders appear to graze on these microbes for nourishment.

“Just like you would eat eggs for breakfast, the sea spider grazes the surface of its body, and it munches all those bacteria for nutrition,” Goffredi said. This behavior is strikingly different from other sea spider species, which typically use fang-like appendages to suck fluids from jellyfish and other soft-bodied prey.

Lab analysis revealed the Sericosura spiders lack those predatory tools, which supports the idea that they rely entirely on their symbiotic bacteria for food.

Symbiosis With a Planet-Saving Twist

Marine microbes that feed on methane don’t just help the spiders—they may also play a bigger environmental role. Goffredi and her team suggest that this spider-bacteria relationship could help prevent methane from reaching Earth’s atmosphere, where it would contribute to global warming.

“Even though they’re small, these animals have a big impact in that environment,” she said. “We can’t ever hope to sustainably use the oceans if we don’t really understand the oceans.”

Nicole Dubilier, a marine biologist and symbiosis expert at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, who was not involved in the study, called the spider-bacteria partnership a “Goldilocks zone” for both creatures. “Even if 80% of the bacterial population gets eaten, it’s worth it for the 20% to survive and reproduce,” she said.

This kind of symbiosis is rare but not entirely unheard of. Other deep-sea creatures like tube worms and sponges have similar methane-based diets. But this is the first time sea spiders have been found doing it.

A Meal That Starts at Birth

The study also uncovered something remarkable about how the spiders pass on their methane-powered lifestyle.

Because these sea spiders are so tiny, many of their organs are crammed into their legs. Females lay eggs from their “kneecaps,” and males scoop them up into bundles that dangle like bracelets from their limbs. After hatching, researchers observed bacteria transferring from the father spiders to the newborns—giving the baby spiders an instant food source.

This kind of microbiome inheritance, Goffredi said, could help scientists better understand how beneficial bacteria—such as those in the human gut—are passed from parent to offspring.

A Fragile, Hidden World

The three new species were found in separate locations off Southern California and Alaska, suggesting they’re highly localized to specific deep-sea habitats. That detail carries a warning.

“People tend to think of the deep sea as a kind of homogeneous ecosystem, but that’s actually untrue,” Goffredi said. “There’s a lot of biodiversity by region. If you disturb one area—like through deep-sea mining—you might be destroying a habitat that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”

As scientists continue to explore the ocean floor, they’re likely to uncover even more strange and specialized life forms like the methane-powered Sericosura. But these discoveries are also a reminder: even the smallest and strangest creatures may hold big secrets—and play vital roles in keeping our planet in balance.

Source: CNN – First methane-powered sea spiders found crawling on the ocean floor

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Corals, typically known for being stationary organisms, have just been observed displaying a surprising ability to “walk” toward blue light, similar to the pulsing movement of jellyfish. A new study focused on the free-living mushroom coral Cycloseris cyclolites has shed light on this unexpected behavior, offering new insights into coral movement and survival strategies.

A Shift from Stationary to Active Movement

While most corals are sessile—remaining fixed to a surface throughout their life—the mushroom coral C. cyclolites starts life anchored to a substrate. As it matures, it becomes mobile, dissolving its stem and moving to new locations. This species is typically found in high-energy areas of the Indo-Pacific, where strong waves and competition for space make survival challenging. The ability to migrate toward deeper, calmer waters helps these corals survive by reducing wave energy and competition for food and sunlight.

Dr. Brett Lewis, lead author of the study and postdoctoral research fellow at the Queensland University of Technology, explained that these environmental pressures force C. cyclolites to move and relocate, enhancing their chances of reproduction and survival.

Groundbreaking Discovery of Active Movement

Previous studies hinted that some free-living corals could move in response to light, but how they navigated their environment remained unclear due to limitations in imaging technology. This new research, published in PLOS One on January 22, 2025, reveals that C. cyclolites moves actively by a technique known as pulsed inflation when exposed to blue light. This movement pattern mimics the pulsing, swimming motions of jellyfish, challenging prior assumptions about coral behavior.

The Fascinating Behavior: Toward the Blue Light

To explore this, Lewis and his team collected five C. cyclolites specimens from the coast of Cairns, Australia, and transported them to an aquarium at Queensland University of Technology. There, they tested the corals’ response to blue and white light.

The results were striking: C. cyclolites showed a strong preference for blue light, with most corals moving toward it in a clear phototactic response. The corals exhibited periodic bursts of movement, or pulsed inflation, that lasted for one to two hours. In blue light trials, some corals moved as far as 220 millimeters (8.7 inches) within 24 hours, despite being limited by the tank walls.

In contrast, only 13.3% of the corals moved in response to white light, traveling significantly shorter distances. When both blue and white light were presented together, all corals moved toward the blue light, completely avoiding the white light.

Understanding the Mechanism: Pulsed Inflation

The movement was driven by a combination of three factors: tissue inflation, the expansion of pads on the coral’s underside, and the twisting and contracting of the outer tissues. These mechanisms work together to create the pulsed inflation movement, allowing the coral to “walk” across surfaces.

While this is similar to how jellyfish move through water using pulsed inflation, C. cyclolites uses this technique to traverse surfaces, not swim through water. This unique movement suggests that corals may share similar complex biomechanics and possibly a comparable nervous system to jellyfish, their evolutionary relatives.

Why It Matters: Implications for Conservation and Ecology

The study’s findings could have far-reaching implications for coral conservation and understanding coral ecology. According to marine biologist Andrew Davies, who was not involved in the study, understanding how species like C. cyclolites respond to light could shed light on their development and behavior, including the role of light in spawning and the behavior of coral larvae.

For coral restoration and conservation efforts, this research highlights the importance of understanding coral movement and how light influences coral behavior. If other corals exhibit similar light-responsive behaviors, it could inform strategies for restoring coral habitats and ensuring more successful outcomes in conservation programs.

Conclusion

The discovery that Cycloseris cyclolites actively “walks” toward blue light not only surprises us but also opens a window into the complexities of coral life. This study challenges the long-standing assumption that corals are purely passive organisms, revealing that some species have sophisticated, light-driven behaviors that may be crucial for their survival and reproduction. The knowledge gained could guide future conservation efforts, offering hope for the preservation of these vital marine ecosystems.

Source

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