'Methane-powered sea spiders' live on ocean floor in never-before-seen discovery

Creatures referred to by researchers as "methane-powered sea spiders" manage to live on the ocean floor in a way that has not been seen before.

Three previously undiscovered species of sea spiders, which have been identified as part of the Sericosura genus, were found living on methane seeps where the familiar, and rather smelly, gas leaks from the seafloor.

Researchers managed to find these sea spiders through remote controlled dives in 2021 and 2023 off the coasts of Southern California and Alaska.

It seems the spiders have never ventured far from methane seeps because they depend on bacteria that's known to turn methane and methanol into carbon and energy into food, reports Science Alert.

And what makes them so unique compared to other animals in methane-dependent environments is they seem to be able to cultivate and consume this bacteria directly from their bodies.

'Methane-powered sea spiders' have been discovered off the coasts of the US / Shana Goffredi

In a report published in PNAS, researchers said: "Nearly all sea spider-associated MMOx bacterial cells assimilated carbon from either methane or methanol but not CO2.

"Within five days, sea spider digestive tissues also showed significant incorporation of the [carbon isotope] label, a phenomenon that could only have occurred via consumption of methane-oxidising bacteria."

Researchers think bacteria can be passed down through generations too.

Elsewhere from indy100, scientists can't explain why bizarre signals are coming from the ice in Antarctica and mysterious holes have been discovered on the outside of the International Space Station.

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