Aquatic animals
Water Scorpion
Physical Features
Water scorpions are dark brown or blackish-brown in color. They are about one to two inch in length. Water scorpions have two pairs of wings and three pairs of legs.
Diet
Water scorpions are carnivores and feed on small fish, tadpoles and other aquatic insects
Water scorpions, are so called, due to their superficial resemblance with the land scorpions; they possess special grasping forelimbs that are similar to the anterior pincers of land scorpions.
backswimmer
The backswimmer as the name implies swims upside down on or near the surface of the water with their legs up!
Behavioural
To breathe underwater, they carry a silvery air bubble at the tip of its abdomen. This bubble is held in place by the little "hairs" that cover its body. When the air in the bubble is used up, the insect rises to the surface and with a quick, somersaulting motion captures a new bubble.
Structural
They are predators (stalking other insects), with sucking mouthparts and often snatch bugs on the water surface, drag them under and devour them.
They have little "hairs" that cover its body to hold the air bubble for breathing.
The backswimmer's keel-shaped back and powerful legs help it swim after its prey of small aquatic animals and escape its enemies.
Water Boatman
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Water boatmen are shaped like a flat football and average in length from 1/3”-1/2” maximum. Their oar shaped legs are distinguishing because of their oaring locomotion. Boatmen carry a bubble on their belly. Their body color is a drab brownish black with subtle barring of dirty yellow, brown olive, gray-brown. The belly is a light to dark brown or dirty white to dull yellow.
Freshwater Snail
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Description
A freshwater snail is one kind of freshwater mollusc, the other kind being freshwater clams and mussels, i.e. freshwater bivalves.
Pond skater
A pond skater feeding on dead ants.
Pond skaters are insects that inhabit the surface of fresh water where they feed primarily on other, usually dead or drowning,
insects. Although the name pond skater is frequently used to refer specifically to the largest members of this group, belonging to the family Gerridae, here we will use it to refer to all surface-dwelling insects of the order Hemiptera .
