The eight-legged marine animals, which are known as pycnogonids, are only distantly related to land spiders. The stunning specimens were discovered in 160 million-year-old fossil beds at La Voulte-sur-Rhone, near Lyon in south-eastern France. Sea spiders are still with us today; scientists have described about 1,300 species of pycnogonids. They are characterized by eight extremely long legs and a prominent mouthpart. While they may resemble land spiders, the pycnogonids form a distinct biological group. The team identified 70 sea spiders from three distinct species in rock slabs from the Jurassic La Voulte Lagerstatte. A Lagerstatte is a sedimentary rock bed rich in fossils or containing well-preserved specimens.