Talitrus saltator
Beach flea ( Talitrus saltator )
The beach flea ( Talitrus saltator ), also Common beach flea, called sand or beach hoppers, is a species in the order of the amphipods, which is often found above along the high water line of sandy beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Baltic and the Mediterranean. The representatives of the Talitridae family are the only terrestrial amphipods. Contrary to the German name these crustaceans are phylogenetically far from belonging to the insect fleas and not closely related to these.
Features
The animals reach a length of 15 (16 ) mm and have a laterally strongly flattened body. They are milky white to light gray in color, and they can have brown or blue stains. Like all amphipods they do not have a carapace ( carapace ), so that the individual thoracic segments are visible. The large, round eyes are black complex and clearly recognizable. While the first (upper) pair of antennae is very short, appears the second - especially in males - very long and ends in a series of small, rough toothed links. The Peraeon (main part of the thorax) has seven pairs of thoracic legs (most of them are walking legs ), the folded abdomen ( pleon ) has three pairs of swimming legs and three pairs of converted jumping legs. The extremities of the second sternum pair, the so-called Gnathopoden, have a claw-like end member.
Occurrence of life
The beach flea colonizes the upper drift lines ( the supralittoral ) of the sandy beaches of the Atlantic and its European side and seas and the Mediterranean. During the day the animals remain buried in moist sand or flotsam (Tang, wood, etc. ) hidden to be active at night in large numbers and to go in search of food. They feed on washed up seaweed and other plant and animal ingredients. With sudden shock of the abdomen or the accreting there three pairs of legs jump beach fleas can make large sets of up to 30 centimeters distance. On firm sand they move almost only jumping forward. For single winter and spring tides they dig several decimetres deep into the sand a. In order to find the shortest way to the sea and back again, the animals should be based on the level of sun or moon.
Except of this nature are still more " beach fleas " different genera in the same habitat. The best known species is next to this type Orchestia gammarella. The genus is widespread Talitrus circumtropisch with ten species especially Talitrus saltator in the warm temperate northeast Atlantic region. Beach fleas are an important food source for many species of birds strandbewohnenden.