Page 306 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

304 ANIMAL LIFE

SUBPHYLUM HEXAPODA SUBPHYLUM HEXAPODA of them squeeze together in the SUBPHYLUM HEXAPODA
fissures to avoid being immersed at
Shore Bristletail Rock Springtail high tide. It is here that they molt and Intertidal Rove
lay their eggs safe from submersion and
Petrobius maritimus Anurida maritima many of their predators. Beetle
LENGTH LENGTH Rock springtails are blue-gray in
2 / 5 in (1 cm) 1 Bledius spectabilis
Up to / 8 in (3 mm) color with segmented bodies that are
HABITAT HABITAT wider at the posterior end. They have LENGTH
3
Rocky shores in the Upper intertidal zone of three pairs of appendages used for Up to / 4 in (2 cm)
splash zone rocky shores locomotion, which also allow them to HABITAT
swarm over the surface of calm rock Intertidal sandy and
muddy shores
DISTRIBUTION British Isles excluding Ireland DISTRIBUTION Coasts of the British Isles pools without sinking—they cannot
swim. Springtails are so named for
The Shore Bristletail, also known At low tide hundreds of rock their jumping organ, called the furcula, DISTRIBUTION Coasts of the British Isles and
as the Sea Bristletail, derives its springtails wander down the beach which acts like a spring, propelling the northern Europe
common name from the three long searching for food, returning to the animal upward if threatened. Unlike
filaments extending from the tip of shelter of their rock crevices an hour other springtails, however, the rock Unusual in that it lives in the intertidal
its abdomen. Its long body is well- before the tide turns. Vast numbers springtail does not have this feature. zone after which it is named, this small
camouflaged by drab-colored scales. arthropod has an elongated, smooth
It has long antennae and compound black body. Short reddish brown wing
eyes that meet at the top of its head. SUBPHYLUM HEXAPODA cases, or elytra, protect the wings but
The shore bristletail lives in rock leave most of the flexible abdomen
crevices and feeds on detritus. It can Dune Snail Bee exposed. A mobile abdomen allows
move swiftly around the rocks using the intertidal rove beetle to squeeze
small spikes on its underside, called Osmia aurulenta into narrow crevices and also to push
styles, to help it grip. When disturbed, its wings up under the elytra.
LENGTH
it can leap small distances through the 2 / 5 in (1 cm) Most rove beetles are active either
air by using its abdomen to catapult it by day (diurnal) or by night (nocturnal),
HABITAT
away from the rock. Sand dune systems but the life of the intertidal rove
beetle is dictated by the tides. It builds
a vertical, wine-bottle shaped burrow
DISTRIBUTION Coasts of northeastern Atlantic, North Male bees of this species emerge in the sand with a living chamber
1
Sea, Baltic, and Mediterranean between April and July, a little earlier about /5 in (5 mm) diameter and
in the year than the females, and seek retreats into it whenever the tide
Important in the pollination of out territories that contain a snail comes in. The burrow entrance is
sand-dune plants, the dune snail bee shell. They then leave scent marks so narrow—about / 10 in (2 mm) in
1
has a compact, brownish black body (pheromones) on the stems of plants diameter—that the air pressure within
with a dense covering of golden red to attract passing females. Once a prevents any water from entering. The
hairs that later fade to gray. Unlike the female has mated with her chosen female lays her eggs in side chambers
honey bee, which carries any pollen it partner, she will adjust the position within the burrow and remains on
collects in pouches on its legs, the of the shell so that the entrance is guard, until her offspring have hatched
dune snail bee carries its pollen in a oriented in the most sheltered and are mature enough to leave and
brush of hairs under its abdomen. direction and lays her eggs inside it. construct their own burrows.
The most widely distributed of the in seawater they simply float up to
SUBPHYLUM HEXAPODA SUBPHYLUM HEXAPODA
seaweed flies, the kelp fly is found the surface and fly off. Their larvae are
Marine Skater Kelp Fly almost everywhere there is rotting equally waterproof. Strongly attracted
seaweed along a strand line. They have to rotting seaweed by its smell, the
flattened, lustrous black bodies, tinged
Halobates sericeus Coelopa frigida female kelp flies seek out warm spots
LENGTH LENGTH with gray, and bristly, brownish yellow in which to lay their eggs. The larvae
2
Females: / 5 in (5 mm) 1 / 8– / 5 in (3–10 mm) legs. Of the two pairs of wings, only hatch and feed on the seaweed around
1
HABITAT HABITAT the front pair is functional, the hind them. After three molts they pupate;
Ocean surface Temperate shores with pair being modified to small club- the adults emerge and complete the
rotting seaweed shaped halteres that act as stabilizers life cycle about 11 days after the eggs
when in flight. Kelp flies can crawl were laid. Kelp flies are an important
DISTRIBUTION Pacific Ocean between 40º and 5º DISTRIBUTION North Atlantic and north Pacific through vast layers of slimy seaweed food source for several coastal birds,
north and south of the equator shorelines without getting stuck, and if immersed including kelp gulls and sandpipers.
This is a member of the only truly
marine genus of insects. The marine
skater spends its entire life on the
surface of tropical and subtropical
oceans where winter temperatures
rarely fall below 68ºF (20ºC). Little is
known about these insects due to the
difficulty in studying them. Females
are larger than males and after mating
they lay 10–20 cream-colored, oval
eggs on a piece of flotsam, such as a
piece of floating wood. The eggs hatch
into nymphs that molt through five
OCEAN LIFE below the surface, its diet is restricted
stages before becoming adults.
Because this insect never dives
to small organisms such as floating fish
eggs, zooplankton, and dead jellyfish.
It feeds by releasing enzymes onto the
surface of its food and then drawing in
the predigested material through its
modified mouthparts.