''Bellorchestia quoyana'' (formerly ''Talorchestia quoyana'')
is the largest and most common species
of
sandhopper
Talitridae is a family of amphipods. Terrestrial species are often referred to as landhoppers and beach dwellers are called sandhoppers or sand fleas. The name sand flea is misleading, though, because these talitrid amphipods are not siphonapter ...
,
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Its length is up to . They help to keep the beaches clean by breaking down any organic material, which is vital for plant succession. They are nocturnal and bury themselves up to during the day (the drier the sand, the deeper they go).
Description
''Bellorchestia quoyana'' reaches lengths of 29 millimetres, with males being slightly larger than females. The body is typically light-yellowish brown with marbled markings of a darker brown generally assimilating the appearance sand. It has a single pair of black
eye
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...
s and two distinct pairs of
antennae. The first pair of antennae are short and extend a little beyond the first joint of antennae 2. The second pair are more robust and extent beyond the head and first three body segments in females and over half the body length in males. The second section of antennae 2 is twice the length of the first.
Jumping action achieved by balancing on third to last pair of legs while turning the abdomen under the body so the end of the uropods and telson press on to the ground. The last two pairs of legs are held parallel to but not touching the ground. When the abdomen is suddenly straightened out the animal is propelled into the air. On landing the abdominal limbs and last two pairs of legs are used as shock absorbers to cushion the impact.
[Healy A, Yaldwyn J. (1970) Australian Crustaceans in Colour. A.H. & A. W. Read p28]
Distribution
''Bellorchestia quoyana'' is found on sandy beaches all around the coasts of New Zealand.
References
External links
*
Gammaridea
Marine crustaceans of New Zealand
Crustaceans described in 1840
Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards
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