sea spider

American  

noun

1. any member of the arthropod class Pycnogonida, marine invertebrates with eight long walking legs attached to a small body consisting of a cephalothorax and vestigial abdomen.

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sea spider British  

noun

1. a small marine arachnid, having four pairs of legs and somewhat resembling a spider, unusual in that the male carries the eggs once they are laid and cares for the offspring

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Etymology

Origin of sea spider

First recorded in 1660–70

Example Sentences

A sea urchin called Sterechinus diadema could lose as much as 43 percent of its habitat, while the sea spider Austrodecus simulans could lose 38 percent of its range.

From The Verge • Sep. 4, 2017

A few paces away, a monstrous, meter–high sea spider was staring at me with beady eyes, poised to spring at me.

From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Walter, F. P.

The "sea spider" described by Van Bu in his second adventure was probably the octopus, which attains to great size in the Pacific.

From Adventures in Southern Seas A Tale of the Sixteenth Century by Forbes, George