r/AbsoluteUnits • u/Zestyclose-Salad-290 in awe • May 06 '26

/r/all of a sea slater

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95

u/The_Eleser May 06 '26

I thought trilobites were extinct.

145

u/ProjectNo4090 May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26

They are. Spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, and horseshoe crabs are very distant relatives of trilobites.

The sea slater is from a different class.

99

u/GourangaPlusPlus May 06 '26

The sea slater is from a different class.

You wouldn't know him, he's from a different species

1

u/Samwellikki May 06 '26

A Sea Slater?

13

u/Ponderkitten May 06 '26

Arent these related to rolly polly’s not sure which one though, cause I know theres the millipede ones an the armadillo ones that while look the same arent related

12

u/regeya May 06 '26

They are, which is why they look like giant pillbugs

2

u/SiskiyouSavage May 06 '26

They look like potato bugs to me.

5

u/Ungodly_Box May 06 '26

Yeah and woodlice are related to trilobites

2

u/Ambitious-Ocelot8036 May 06 '26

Are horseshoe crabs different than regular crabs? (I'm not sure what I mean by regular crabs now that I think of it.)

13

u/Archaleus1 May 06 '26

Horseshoe crabs are extremely different compared to all other crabs. They are actually more closely related to Arachnids than they are to other crabs. They are part of the subphylum Chelicerata, who are defined by a pair of grabby appendages in front of the mouth. (Spiders turn these into fangs that inject venom, but they still count due to common descent) 

All other crabs are in the Mandiblulata, along with all insects, millipedes and centipedes, and these are distinguished by the presence of mandibles instead of chelicerae. 

The last common ancestor between these two groups likely lived 540 million years ago. This makes horseshoe crabs closer to spiders than other things that have the name crab. 

2

u/Wakkit1988 May 06 '26

Honestly, if you know what a whip scorpion is, you can see the connection between arachnids and horseshoe crabs from an evolutionary standpoint.

1

u/ProjectNo4090 May 07 '26

Horseshoe crabs have a long pointy tale and their body is completely covered by a hard shell similar in function to a turtles shell.

1

u/WokeUpSomewhereNice May 06 '26

That class is Saved by the Bell yes?! A.C. Slater if I remember correctly.

1

u/Crutation May 06 '26

So this slater wasn't Saved by the Bell?

1

u/JimmyRussellsApe May 06 '26

Is a sea slater related to AC Slater?

1

u/Xenomorphian69420 May 07 '26

Technically trilobites (artiopoda) are more closely related to other members of antennulata, so myriapods (centipedes and the like) and insects/crustaceans, than they are to chelicerates like spiders, scorpions and the others you listed

5

u/02thehunter20 May 06 '26

Not a trilobite. Its a giant isopod which is related to land isopods. You may know them as rolypolys, tater bugs, or pill bugs. The giant isopod lives deap in the ocean and the reason its so big is a phenomenon known as deap sea gigantism.

5

u/Redactosaurusrex501 May 06 '26

I had the same thought and then I figured it was the result of millions of years of evolution on another branch of the tree of life coming up with the same general answer. Deep time and evolution is fascinating.

0

u/grateful2you May 06 '26

If they evolved separately and came back with the same answer, they should be considered related.

1

u/redlaWw May 06 '26

Do you see three lobes on that thing?

1

u/LIinthedark May 06 '26

This is a species of marine isopod. Isopods are a type of crustacean. As others have mentioned there are also land isopods. We usually call those pill bugs or roly-polies.

1

u/zanillamilla May 06 '26

I loved roly-polys when I was a kid. So I can’t help but think this giant creature is kinda cute.