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Gerridae

File:Water_strider_(Gerridae_sp.)_Makiling.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Gerridae

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Also known as water striders, water bugs

thumb|Nymph in Cyprus thumb|Walking on water surface; the dark blobs are shadows cast by water disturbances around each of the six legs touching the water.

OverviewAI-generated

Gerridae is a family of insects within the order Hemiptera, class Insecta, and phylum Arthropoda. The family is classified under the superfamily Gerroidea and was described by Leach in 1815. Its scientific name is Gerridae, which is distinct from the family Gerreidae.

Common names for this taxon include Water Striders, vannløpere, vodni drsalci, and schaatsenrijders, with "pondskaters" also listed as a common name. The family is accepted in taxonomic records and has been documented in marine, brackish, and freshwater habitats.

The taxon is the subject of 187,867 occurrence records. It is included in the Wikipedia Vital Articles list at Level 4 and is referenced by 377 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 30 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, Gbif Occ, WoRMS, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

pondskaters

Gerridae

FAMILY

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumArthropoda
  3. ClassInsecta
  4. OrderHemiptera
  5. FamilyGerridae
Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater
Observations recorded187,867

Water striders skate on the water surface by making use of the surface tension. They can also make fairly large leaps. There are nineteen species of water striders in the Netherlands. One well-known species is the pond skater (or Jesus bug). Another common skater, but a species of beetle, is the whirligig beetle.

via GBIF

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
Gerroidea
Image
Water strider G remigis.jpg
Show 7 more facts
Commons category
Gerridae
taxon rank
family
taxon name
Gerridae
topic's main category
Category:Gerridae
taxon common name
водомерки
different from
Gerreidae
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~22 min read

Encyclopedic overview

22 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • Size
  • Antennae
  • Thorax
  • Appendages
  • Wings
  • Evolution
  • Wing polymorphism
  • Ability to move on water's surface
  • Life cycle
  • Ecology
  • Habitat
  • Diet
  • Predators
  • Parasites
  • Dispersal
  • Mating behavior
  • Social behavior
  • In popular culture
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

thumb|Nymph in Cyprus thumb|Walking on water surface; the dark blobs are shadows cast by water disturbances around each of the six legs touching the water.

The Gerridae are a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water skeeters, water scooters, water bugs, pond skaters, water skippers, water gliders, water skimmers or puddle flies. They are true bugs of the suborder Heteroptera and have mouthparts evolved for piercing and sucking. A distinguishing feature is the ability to move on top of the water's surface, making them pleuston (surface-living) animals. They can be found on most ponds, rivers or lakes, and over 1,700 species of gerrids have been described, 10% of them being marine.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gerridae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (27)

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