Pentapycnon geayi

This species is small, with the average trunk measuring only 3.5 mm in length. This sea spider is brown and features five pairs of legs in adults with a small single claw at the end of each leg. The body and legs are short and stout with a reticulated surface. The trunk is fully segmented and features a series of four tubercles down the middle of the back directly behind the ocular tubercle, which is taller than the other four dorsal tubercles. The ocular tubercle is located in the middle of the cephalic segment and features four small eyes with dark pigment. The proboscis is shaped like a truncated cone that is narrower at the distal end. Only the males feature ovigers, which are relatively small and short. Each oviger features seven segments and a curved terminal claw. This species shares many traits with the other two species in the ten-legged genus Pentapycnon, P. bouvieri and P. charcoti. For example, all three Pentapycnon species feature not only five leg pairs but also bodies and legs that are short and stout. Furthermore, ovigers are present in the males of all three species, and each oviger features several segments and a curved terminal claw. Moreover, the trunk in all three species is fully segmented. Several features, however, distinguish P. geayi from the other two species in the same genus. For example, the surface is markedly reticulated in P. …

The species Pentapycnon geayi has been recorded in the Caribbean Sea, near Costs Rica, and in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, near Puerto Rico, Martinique, French Guiana, Suriname, and Brazil, as well as in the Alboran Sea in the Mediterranean, near the coast of Spain and Gibraltar. Along the Atlantic coast of Brazil, this sea spider has been found off the coast in the states of Pará, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, and Espírito Santo. This sea spider has been found at depths ranging from 0 to 70 meters below the surface, including specimens collected from tide pools in intertidal sandstone reefs at low tide.

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