Tag: Freshwater
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142/150: A small creature with a long history
Animalia: Arthropoda: Ostracoda: Podocopida: Cyprididae: Cypridopsinae: Cypridopsis vidua (O. F. Müller, 1776) The Ostracods are an ancient crustacean that has been around for over 50 million years! Of the nearly 70,000 species described, only 13,000 are alive today, all others being discovered as fossils. Many ostracods have found use in the field of biostratigraphy –…
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139/150: The Longnose Gar – Freaky Fish!
Animalia: Chordata: Actinopterygii: Lepisosteiformes: Lepisosteidae: Lepisosteus: Lepisosteus osseus (Linnaeus, 1758) The longnose gar can be found along the east coast of North and Central America. It resides in freshwater lakes where there is plenty of vegetation, trees and stone outcrops. The species is defined by its long snout, sharp teeth, elongated body and earthy colours…
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80/150: No stone unturned!
Animalia: Arthropoda: Hexapoda: Insecta: Plecoptera: Perloidea: Perlidae: Acroneuria: Acroneuria abnormis (Newman, 1838) Stoneflies are insects that can be found worldwide (other than Antarctica) with 3,500 species known globally and many more being discovered! Stoneflies are known for being extremely vulnerable to pollution thus the presence of these insects are a great sign of clean water…
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77/150: Mapleleaf Mussel – Important environmental indicators of Canadian Rivers and Lakes
Animalia: Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionoida: Unionidae: Ambleminae: Quadrula: Quadrula quadrula (Rafinesque, 1820) The Mapleleaf mussel is a freshwater mussel found in North America. Mapleleaf mussels are a threatened species in Ontario since 2008 and have completely disappeared from Lake Erie, Detroit and Niagara rivers. The main threats to this species are habitat destruction, invasive Zebra mussels…
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37/150: The real-life Cyclops
animalia: Arthropoda: Maxillopoda: Cyclopoida: Cyclopidae: Cyclops Though the name might seem fitting for a monster, Cyclops is a small copepod that happens to share the same body characteristic of a single large eye on its head region with the mythological giant.
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30/150: Hail Hydra! The immortal cnidarian
animalia: Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Anthoathecata: Hydridae: Hydra: Hydra canadensis (Rowan, 1930) From Marvel movies to Greek mythology, ‘Hydra’ is a familiar word referring to a many headed monster that can regenerate heads for every one cut off. It sounds far-fetched, but in fact, is exactly what the freshwater cnidarian can do. Hydra is a genus containing…
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27/150: The small priceless gems of freshwater ecosystems
Animalia: Arthropoda: Malacostraca: Amphipoda: Hyalellidae: Hyalella: Hyalella azteca (Saussure, 1858) Amphipods are common crustaceans that are found in freshwater bodies such as lakes and rivers and Hyalella azteca is one of the most abundant in North America. Due to their small size, these animals mainly feed on diatoms, algae and organic detritus.
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23/150: And you thought only vertebrates breathe with lungs? Meet the Arctic Pond Snail
Animalia: Mollusca: Gastropoda: Hygrophila: Lymnaeidae: Stagnicola: Stagnicola arctica (Lea, 1864) The Arctic Pond Snail (Stagnicola arctica) is a freshwater gastropod belonging to the family Lymnaeidae. This species occurs across northern Canada from Labrador to the Yukon Territory and are typically found in lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, ditches and muskeg pools.
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9/150: Fairly Shore it’s a Fairy Shrimp
Animalia: Arthropoda: Branchiopoda : Anostraca: Branchinectida: Branchinecta: Branchinecta paludosa (O. F. Müller, 1788) Branchinecta paludosa is a species of fairy shrimp found almost everywhere in the northern hemisphere, and one of the only four species of fairy shrimp that are freshwater inhabitants. Most species in the fairy shrimp group have several pairs of swimming legs,…