Back خنفساء الماء Arabic Escarabat d'aigua Catalan Zuŋguliŋmaarigu DAG Veemardikad ET سوسک آبزی FA Ciaróg uisce GA Escaravello acuático GL Coleoptera aquatica LA Chrząszcze wodne Polish Water beetle SIMPLE
A water beetle is a generalized name for any beetle that is adapted to living in water at any point in its life cycle. Most water beetles can only live in fresh water, with a few marine species that live in the intertidal zone or littoral zone. There are approximately 2000 species of true water beetles native to lands throughout the world.[1]
Many water beetles carry an air bubble, called the elytra cavity, underneath their abdomens, which provides an air supply, and prevents water from getting into the spiracles.[2] Others have the surface of their exoskeleton modified to form a plastron, or "physical gill", which permits direct gas exchange with the water. Some families of water beetles have fringed hind legs adapted for swimming, but most do not. Most families of water beetles have larvae that are also aquatic; many have aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults.[3][4]
- ^ "Water Beetle: pictures, information, classification and more". www.everythingabout.net.
- ^ "Water Beetle - Facts, Information & Pictures".
- ^ Peckarsky, Barbara Lynn (1990). Freshwater macroinvertebrates of northeastern North America. the University of Michigan: Comstock Pub. Associates. ISBN 0801420768.
- ^ McCafferty, W. Patrick (1983). Aquatic Entomology: The Fishermen's and Ecologists' Illustrated Guide to Insects and Their Relatives. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 9780867200171.