Tag: Aquatic
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99/150: Lampshells – Watt do you mean it’s not a mussel?
Animalia: Brachiopoda: Rhynchonellata: Terebratulida: Terebratellidae: Terebrataliinae: Terebratalia: Terebratalia transversa (Sowerby, 1846) Lampshells, including Terebratalia transversa, belong to the phylum Brachiopoda, which translates to arm-foot in Greek. Brachiopods have been around for millions of years, dominating the oceans in the Paleozoic Era (541 to 252 million years ago), but now have a smaller distribution and are…
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94/150: O Canada Darner!
Animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Odonata: Aeshnidae: Aeshna: Aeshna canadensis Walker, 1908 A real Canadian dragonfly, the Canada darner Aeshna canadensis is native to all ten Canadian provinces. Ranging from a brilliant blue to a rich brown in colour, Canada darner males are usually seen hovering near edges of boggy freshwater habitats, whereas the milder coloured females…
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66/150: Well, that is just dumb luck
Plantae: Pteridophyta: Pteridopsida: Hydropteridales: Marsileaceae: Marsilea vestita (Linnaeus) Don’t be fooled, Hairy waterclover (Marsilea vestita) may LOOK like something that could give you a lifetime of good luck, but in reality are just four-leaf clover wannabes. Hairy waterclover, also known as Hairy pepperwort, is a type of aquatic fern that you can find in damp…
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52/150: Daphnia – Science’s preeminent and revered crustacean
Animalia: Arthropoda: Branchiopoda: Diplostraca: Daphniidae: Daphnia: Daphnia pulex (Leydig, 1860) Daphnia pulex (Water Flea) is the most abundant crustacean in freshwater systems. An essential part of the food web, Daphnia eat algae and phytoplankton and are food for fish, insects and water mites. Daphnia are incredible filterers, removing algae out of a lake at 4…
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38/150: Soak up this info on sponges!
animalia: Porifera: Demospongiae: Halisarcida: Halisarcidae: Halisarca: Halisarca dujardini (Johnston, 1842) What is a sponge exactly? You probably thought it’s something you use for cleaning. These simple animals are without circulatory, digestive and nervous systems and have been around for over 500 million years!