''Sericosura'' is a genus of

sea spiders Sea spiders are marine arthropods of the class Pycnogonida, hence they are also called pycnogonids (; named after ''Pycnogonum'', the type genus; with the suffix '). The class includes the only now-living order Pantopoda ( ‘all feet’), alongs ...

in the family

Ammotheidae Ammotheidae is the most diversified group of the class Pycnogonida Sea spiders are marine arthropods of the class Pycnogonida, hence they are also called pycnogonids (; named after ''Pycnogonum'', the type genus; with the suffix '). The class ...

. Species within this genus have been found in the eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

living at depths from 106 to 3,690 meters below sea level often near

methane seeps A cold seep (sometimes called a cold vent) is an area of the ocean floor where seepage of fluids rich in hydrogen sulfide, methane, and other hydrocarbons occurs, often in the form of a brine pool. ''Cold'' does not mean that the temperature ...

. This genus of sea spiders is host to a diverse community of

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

and

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...

oxidizing

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

on its

exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...

in dense aggregations. Such bacteria found on their exoskeletons include members of the bacterial families Methylomonadaceae and Methylophagaceae. It is thought that theses sea spiders farm and feed on theses bacteria. This provides a unique interaction between an animal and chemically fueled bacteria.

Species

* '' Sericosura bamberi'' Arango & Linse, 2015 * '' Sericosura cochleifovea'' Child, 1989 * '' Sericosura conta'' Bamber, 2009 * '' Sericosura curva'' Arango & Linse, 2015 * '' Sericosura cyrtoma'' Child & Segonzac, 1996 * '' Sericosura dentatus'' Wang, Lin, Bamber & Huang, 2013 * '' Sericosura dimorpha'' Arango & Linse, 2015 * '' Sericosura dissita'' Child, 2000 * '' Sericosura gemmaemonsis'' Wang, Lin, Bamber & Huang, 2013 * '' Sericosura hedgpethi'' Bamber, 2009 * '' Sericosura heteroscela'' Child & Segonzac, 1996 * '' Sericosura mitrata'' (Gordon, 1944) * '' Sericosura venticola'' Child, 1987 * '' Sericosura verenae'' (Child, 1987)

References

Pycnogonid genera {{Chelicerata-stub