How's it hangin'? 😁
Although it bears an uncanny resemblance to a spider suspended in mid-air, this extraordinary animal is actually not a spider at all! These munnopsid isopods are more closely related to a group of animals commonly found in your backyard—pillbugs or rollie pollies.
Munnopsid isopods are extremely diverse and can be found on the seafloor, below the seafloor, and throughout the water column. MBARI researchers have observed these curious animals in groups of over a hundred individuals feeding along the seafloor. They have also been recorded floating or swimming in the midwater. They can use their long legs to propel them off the seafloor and through the water or to parachute down to the bottom for their next dinner party.
