Holopedium gibberum, a tiny cladoceran crustacean. Cladocerans, which include other small aquatic animals like daphnia, are part of the zooplankton of lakes and ponds. Like most cladocerans, Holopedium reproduces in two ways. Throughout the summer, females reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis, which means that females lay unfertilized eggs which hatch into more females – no males needed. In Holopedium, the developing eggs are carried in a brood pouch on the back of the female. This brood pouch can be twice as long as the female and looks like a gelatinous fish egg. When the density of Holopedium is high, they can wash up on beaches . Towards the end of the summer or early fall, some of the offspring will be male and sexual reproduction occurs. The result of this is fertilized “resting” eggs that survive the winter on the bottom of the lake. When these eggs hatch in the spring, they start the cycle over again.
The Mister swears this is a bear footprint - may need an expert opinion on this.
The perfect "perch"
sue says it's a platypus print
ReplyDeletesue says it's a platypus print
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