Glacier flea

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Glacier flea
IsotomaTiefenbach.jpg
A group of glacier fleas assembled on the Tiefenbachferner, Tyrol, Austria
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Collembola
Order: Entomobryomorpha
Family: Isotomidae
Genus: Desoria
Species:
D. saltans
Binomial name
Desoria saltans
Nicolet, 1841

The glacier flea is a group of glacial springtail. D. saltans is the most famous species of glacier flea, the fist one described (Nicolet, 1841) but there are several springtail species that are also called glacier fleas [1] [2] , and which catch the attention on snow surfaces due to their dark body colouring, their hopping motion and the fact that they often gather in large groups.

Contents

D. saltans is 1.5 – 2.5 millimetres long and lives on the glaciers and snowfields of the Alps, where it feeds on substances such as cryoconite, pollen and plant remains and snow algae of the genus Chlamydomonas. [3] The jet black animal is easy to spot on light backgrounds and gathers in great numbers on surfaces during the melt season.

See also

References

  1. Valle, Barbara; Barbon, Giovanni; Cucini, Claudio; Nardi, Francesco; Ambrosini, Roberto; Boschi, Sara; Buda, Jakub; Ficetola, Gentile Francesco; Frati, Francesco; Kováč, Ľubomír; Marta, Silvio; Scotti, Riccardo; Toscano Rivalta, Virginia; Zimmer, Anaïs; Gobbi, Mauro (2025). "The Unexplored Biodiversity of 'Glacier Fleas' (Hexapoda: Collembola): Taxonomy, Distribution and Ecology in the European Alps and Apennines". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 2025 (1): 1616350. doi: 10.1155/jzs/1616350 . ISSN   1439-0469.
  2. Fjellberg, Arne (2010-06-21). "Cryophilic Isotomidae (Collembola) of the Northwestern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A." Zootaxa. 2513 (1): 27–49. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2513.1.2. ISSN   1175-5334.
  3. H. Franz & E. Sertl-Butschek (1954): Ordnung Collembola; in: H. Franz, Die Nordost-Alpen im Spiegel ihrer Landtierwelt. Innsbruck: Wagner, 579-641.

Literature