Belgica antarctica
| Belgica antarctica | ||||||||||||
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two individuals of the species |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Belgica antarctica | ||||||||||||
| Jacobs , 1900 |
Belgica antarctica is awingless mosquito species (Chironomidae)livingin the Antarctic . With a length of only 2–6 mm, it is the largest land animal permanently living on this continent. Belgica antarctica was discovered during the Belgica expedition , which explored parts of Antarctica in 1898. The Antarctic travelers Frederick Cook and Roald Amundsen ,who later became famous,were also members of this expedition.
Way of life
The mosquito larvae have adapted very well to the extreme conditions of the Antarctic. They survive extremely salty as well as acidic environments. Several weeks without oxygen are no problem for most larvae, as is almost complete dehydration or freezing alive. Scientists at Miami University in the USA found that larvae that had recently been exposed to a cold of −5 ° C for at least an hour subsequently also survived temperatures of −20 ° C. On the other hand, if the temperature falls evenly and relatively quickly, most larvae die at −10 ° C.
One of her best known habitats is the shore of Midge Lake (English for midges ) on the Livingston Island in the archipelago of the South Shetland Islands , which is named after these midges.
literature
- Richard E. Lee Jr., Michael A. Elnitsky, Joseph P. Rinehart, Scott AL Hayward, Luke H. Sandro, David L. Denlinger: Rapid cold-hardening increases the freezing tolerance of the Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica. Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 399-406 (2006) ( abstract )
Web links
- Antarctic Bestiary at the Laboratory for Ecophysical Cryobiology (with photos of the larvae and adults)
- How mosquitoes get winterized , news from Wissenschaften.de from January 23, 2006