Sea sandpiper

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Sea sandpiper
Halobates keyanus, specimen from the collection

Halobates keyanus , specimen from the collection

Systematics
Order : Schnabelkerfe (Hemiptera)
Subordination : Bed bugs (heteroptera)
Partial order : Gerromorpha
Family : Water strider (Gerridae)
Subfamily : Halobatinae
Genre : Sea sandpiper
Scientific name
Halobates
Eschscholtz , 1822
Halobates micans

The sea sandpipers ( Halobates ) are a genus in the subordination of the bedbugs (Heteroptera). The genus comprises 46 species, five of which ( Halobates germanus, H. micans, H. sericeus, H. sobrinus, H. splendens ) colonize the open sea ( pelagic ). The other species live near the coast.

distribution and habitat

The majority of the 45 known species are distributed in the tropical regions, near the equator and the western Indo-Pacific between the 30th north and 30th south latitude. Halobates robustus is endemic to the Galapagos Islands . The oceanic species H. sobrinus , H. splendens and H. micans have the most widespread distribution and, in addition to the area mentioned above, also inhabit the Atlantic Ocean , the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean . Five species live on the free surface of the sea, the others in protected waters near the coast.

Both the adult animals and their larvae spend their entire lifespan on the water surface. The spread of the coastal bedbugs is linked to the occurrence of reef-building corals and mangroves . The water temperature is of decisive importance. The five oceanic species prefer water surface temperatures between 24 ° C and 28 ° C.

Way of life

Sea water striders use the surface tension of the water, which enables them to glide over the water surface. They mostly populate the open sea surface near the coast. Like all representatives of the water striders in the broader sense (Gerromorpha), the sea water striders are exclusively predatory. Little is known about the type of prey. The animals were observed to suckle on zooplankton , dead jellyfish , fish eggs and fish larvae.

Reproduction and development

The animals use floating bird feathers, driftwood, plastic waste, mussel shells and the like to lay their eggs on them. Some species even dive down to stick their eggs to various substrates by means of a gelatinous substance just below the surface of the water . The eggs are oval and measure about 0.8 millimeters to 1.3 millimeters. Compared to the body size of the females, they are very large at around 5 millimeters. At the beginning of development, the contents of the eggs are yellow to orange in color. Later, when the embryo becomes visible, the color changes to a bright orange and the eyes appear as red dots. A female lays up to 10,000 fertilized eggs in one laying period. The hemimetabolic bugs go through five larval stages.

supporting documents

Main source

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The worldwide distribution of Halobates. University of Nebraska ( November 19, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive ).
  2. ↑ The eerie transformation of the plastic garbage vortex. Spiegel Online , May 9, 2012.

Web links