Sea spiders are a relatively poorly understood group of invertebrates found throughout the entire world's oceans and seas. They can be relatively small (1mm) to extremely large (70cm). 3 specimens (1 adult male, 1 adult female, and 1 male juvenile) were collected from midwaters just off the coast of California in the Monterrey Submarine Trench. Their characteristics were observed and determined to all belong to the Genus Pallenopsis and the Subgenus Bathypallenopsis. We compared the morphological features of these 3 specimens to each other and to other similar species. These features were photographed as well as illustrated. We found that the male adult and juvenile likely constitute a new species and that the female may additionally be its own species. Further work is needed to determine the case for the female, but it is certain that there is at least one new species. The closest match to these species is P. cornea, which lacks the same spine arrangement on its ovigers and has other characteristics that make them separate.
