Sand hopper
size:
up to 2.5 centimeters
color:
brown grey
age:
up to 21 months old
food:
organic waste, such as rotting seaweed and dead animals
enemies:
insects, some birds (plovers), sea horses
reproduction:
sexual
- Dut: Strandvlo
- Lat: Talitrus saltator
- Eng: Sand hopper
- Ger: Strandfloh
- Dan: Sandspringer
- Dut: Kwelderspringer
- Lat: Orchestia gamarella
- Eng: see Latin
- Ger: Strandhüpfer
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- Sand hopper, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Sand hopper
High tide leaves flotsam behind on the beach, at the flood-mark. That's just the spot to find sand hoppers. They usually crawl around under the debris to prevent dehydration during the day. If you stand on or tilt up a pile of old seaweed on the beach, large numbers will jump away. They can 'hop' a distance of 1 meter, so you understand where they got their name. Although you often find them on the beach, they are also good swimmers. There are a several species of sand hoppers found in the Netherlands.
- Orchestia gamarella
- Orchestia gamarella, Erik van Ommen, www.erik-van-ommen.nl
There is even a kind of sand hopper that lives along the edge of the mudflats, the Orchestia gamarella.
- Distribution and habitat
- Sand hopper, Erik van Ommen, www.erik-van-ommen.nl
Sand hoppers are very common on Dutch beaches.
See also
Info
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