Crassicorophium bonellii is a species of amphipod crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

 in the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Crassicorophium

Crassicorophium

Crassicorophium is a genus of amphipod crustaceans, comprising three species:*Crassicorophium bonellii *Crassicorophium clarencense *Crassicorophium crassicorne...

. It produces water-proof silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 from its legs as an adhesive in constructing shelter for itself. In a study published in the journal Naturwissenschaften, it was found that silk is produced in a fashion very similar to spider

Spider

Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...

s.

It has been suggested by Dr Fritz Vollrath, of Oxford University, that Crassicorophium silk's tolerance of salt water

Salt water

Salt water or saltwater may refer to:* Saline water, water containing salts* Brine, with salt* Brackish water, water that is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as seawater* Seawater, water from oceans or seas...

 means it might find uses in medical applications where it would come into contact with salty bodily fluids.