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Opifex Fuscus
''Opifex fuscus'', known commonly as the saltpool mosquito or by its Māori name naeroa, is an endemic mosquito that is widespread along the coast of New Zealand. It lives and breeds in a coastal environment. This is a unique behaviour for mosquitoes as globally just 5% of the group breed on the rocky shore. Adults of the species are found throughout the intertidal zone while its larvae and pupae can be found in rock pools just above high tide. It is one of two known species in the genus '' Opifex''. Description Adults are stocky with a dark grey-black coloured body. They are a primitive mosquito with few scales. Wings are a light brown colour. The head is vertex with no erect scales but has numerous curved hair-like structures known as setae. The male of this species has long legs that allow it to walk on water and large claws used to grip females during mating. Distribution This species is endemic to New Zealand and is found throughout the coast of the entire countries m ...
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Animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motility, able to move, can Sexual reproduction, reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in which their body consists of a hollow sphere of Cell (biology), cells, the blastula, during Embryogenesis, embryonic development. Over 1.5 million Extant taxon, living animal species have been Species description, described—of which around 1 million are Insecta, insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million animal species in total. Animals range in length from to . They have Ecology, complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology. Most living animal species are in Bilateria, a clade whose members have a Symmetry in biology#Bilate ...
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Vertex (anatomy)
In arthropod and vertebrate anatomy, the vertex (or ''cranial vertex'') is the highest point of the head. In humans, the vertex is formed by four bones of the skull: the frontal bone, the two parietal bones, and the occipital bone. These bones are connected by the coronal suture between the frontal and parietal bones, the sagittal suture between the two parietal bones, and the lambdoid suture between the parietal and occipital bones. ''Vertex baldness'' refers to a form of male pattern baldness in which the baldness is limited to the vertex, resembling a tonsure. In childbirth, ''vertex birth'' refers to the common head-first presentation of the baby, as opposed to the buttocks-first position of a breech birth. In entomology, the color and shape of an insect's vertex and the structures arising from it are commonly used in identifying species. See also *Calvaria (skull) *Crown (anatomy) The crown is the top portion of the head behind the vertex. The anatomy of the crown varies ...
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Intermediate Hosts
In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples include animals playing host to parasitic worms (e.g. nematodes), cells harbouring pathogenic (disease-causing) viruses, a bean plant hosting mutualistic (helpful) nitrogen-fixing bacteria. More specifically in botany, a host plant supplies food resources to micropredators, which have an evolutionarily stable relationship with their hosts similar to ectoparasitism. The host range is the collection of hosts that an organism can use as a partner. Symbiosis Symbiosis spans a wide variety of possible relationships between organisms, differing in their permanence and their effects on the two parties. If one of the partners in an association is much larger than the other, it is generally known as the host. In parasitism, the parasite benefits at the ...
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Copepod
Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor), a number of species have parasitic phases, and some continental species may live in limnoterrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests, bogs, springs, ephemeral ponds, and puddles, damp moss, or water-filled recesses (phytotelmata) of plants such as bromeliads and pitcher plants. Many live underground in marine and freshwater caves, sinkholes, or stream beds. Copepods are sometimes used as Ecological indicator, biodiversity indicators. As with other crustaceans, copepods have a larval form. For copepods, the egg hatches into a Crustacean larvae#Nauplius, nauplius form, with a head and a tail but no true thorax or abdomen. The larva molts several times until it resembles the adult an ...
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Coelomomyces Opifexi
''Coelomomyces'' is the only genus of fungi in the family Coelomomycetaceae. Species in the genus can be used as agents for the biological control of mosquitoes. Characteristics ''Coelomomyces'' are obligate parasites of mosquitoes and chironomids, meaning that they require their hosts to complete their lifecycle. One species, ''Coelomomyces psorophorae'', is even heteroecious; it requires two completely different hosts as part of its life cycle over the generations, larvae of both the mosquito ''Culiseta inornata'' as well as the copepod '' Cyclops venalis''. Due to their lethal nature and host specificity, they have been used by humans for biological control of mosquitoes and other insects. The mycelium of Coelomomyces spreads among infected mosquito larva. As the larvae disintegrate, the sporangia break free and are released to spread the fungus, sometimes among copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater an ...
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Pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages thereof being egg, larva, pupa, and imago. The processes of entering and completing the pupal stage are controlled by the insect's hormones, especially juvenile hormone, prothoracicotropic hormone, and ecdysone. The act of becoming a pupa is called pupation, and the act of emerging from the pupal case is called eclosion or emergence. The pupae of different groups of insects have different names such as ''chrysalis'' for the pupae of butterflies and ''tumbler'' for those of the mosquito family. Pupae may further be enclosed in other structures such as cocoons, nests, or shells. Position in life cycle The pupal stage follows the larval stage and precedes adulthood (''imago'') in insects with complete metamorphosi ...
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Proboscis
A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elongated nose or snout. Etymology First attested in English in 1609 from Latin , the latinisation of the Ancient Greek (), which comes from () 'forth, forward, before' + (), 'to feed, to nourish'. The plural as derived from the Greek is , but in English the plural form ''proboscises'' occurs frequently. Invertebrates The most common usage is to refer to the tubular feeding and sucking organ of certain invertebrates such as insects (e.g., moths, butterflies, and mosquitoes), worms (including Acanthocephala, proboscis worms) and gastropod molluscs. Acanthocephala The Acanthocephala or thorny-headed worms, or spiny-headed worms are characterized by the presence of an eversible proboscis, armed with spines, which it uses to pierce and ...
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Spray Zone
The supralittoral zone, also known as the splash zone, spray zone or the supratidal zone, sometimes also referred to as the white zone, is the area above the spring high tide line, on coastlines and estuaries, that is regularly splashed, but not submerged by ocean water. Seawater penetrates these elevated areas only during storms with high tides.Thurman et al., p. 512. Organisms here must cope also with exposure to air, fresh water from rain, cold, heat and predation by land animals and seabirds. At the top of this area, patches of dark lichens can appear as crusts on rocks. Some types of periwinkles, Neritidae and detritus feeding Isopoda commonly inhabit the lower supralittoral.Yip and Madl See also *Littoral zone * Sublittoral zone Notes References * Thurman H.V. and Trujillo A.P. 1993.''Essentials of Oceanography''.Upper Saddle River, NJ:Prentice Hall * Yip, Maricela and Madl, Pierre (1999''Littoral''University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (german: Universit ...
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Seta
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. They help, for example, earthworms to attach to the surface and prevent backsliding during peristaltic motion. These hairs make it difficult to pull a worm straight from the ground. Setae in oligochaetes (a group including earthworms) are largely composed of chitin. They are classified according to the limb to which they are attached; for instance, notosetae are attached to notopodia; neurosetae to neuropodia. Crustaceans have mechano- and chemosensory setae. Setae are especially present on the mouthparts of crustaceans and can also be found on grooming limbs. In some cases, setae are modified into scale like structures. Setae on the legs of krill and other small crustaceans help them to gather phytoplankton. It captures them and allows th ...
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Opifex (insect)
''Opifex'' is a genus of mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ... containing the species ''Opifex chathamicus'' and ''O. fuscus''. ''Opifex fuscus'' have an unusual mating system. In contrast with most mosquito species, which mate in flight, mating in ''Opifex'' occurs on the surface of salt-water pools. ''Opifex fuscus'' males will grab female ''pupae'' from under the surface of the water. Females being reproducing as soon as they come out of their chrysalis.Lambert, David M, and Elisabeth Slooten. “Evolutionary Studies of the New Zealand Coastal Mosquito Opifex Fuscus (Hutton) I. Mating Behaviour.” Beh, vol. 84, no. 1-2, 1983, pp. 157–171., doi.org/10.1163/156853983X00336. References Mosquito genera Aedini {{Culicidae-stub ...
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Arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arthropod cuticle, cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate. The arthropod body plan consists of segments, each with a pair of appendages. Arthropods are bilaterally symmetrical and their body possesses an exoskeleton, external skeleton. In order to keep growing, they must go through stages of moulting, a process by which they shed their exoskeleton to reveal a new one. Some species have wings. They are an extremely diverse group, with up to 10 million species. The haemocoel, an arthropod's internal cavity, through which its haemolymph – analogue of blood – circulates, accommodates its interior Organ (anatomy), organs; it has an open circulatory system. Like their exteriors, the internal or ...
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Pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages thereof being egg, larva, pupa, and imago. The processes of entering and completing the pupal stage are controlled by the insect's hormones, especially juvenile hormone, prothoracicotropic hormone, and ecdysone. The act of becoming a pupa is called pupation, and the act of emerging from the pupal case is called eclosion or emergence. The pupae of different groups of insects have different names such as ''chrysalis'' for the pupae of butterflies and ''tumbler'' for those of the mosquito family. Pupae may further be enclosed in other structures such as cocoons, nests, or shells. Position in life cycle The pupal stage follows the larval stage and precedes adulthood (''imago'') in insects with complete metamorphosi ...
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