Stats

Lifespan: 2-3 years
Size: Tiny
Diet: Filter Feeder
Activity: Cathemeral
Social: Colony
Biome: Sandy beach
Range: North America
Movement: Burrowing
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Burrowing
Status: Uncommon

About

This small crustacean lives buried in the wet sand of Western Atlantic beaches. It uses feathery antennae to filter plankton from receding waves while remaining hidden.

Life cycle

1.
juvenile
A juvenile crustacean takes adult form after its larval phase, growing in stages between molts.
2.
adult
Fully grown at adult size and full hard shell.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Hippidae
Genus: Emerita
Species: Emerita talpoida