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Animal profile

Beach Hopper

Talitrus saltator

MalacostracaSandy beaches, burrowing above the tide line by day and foraging on wrack at night

Field profile

The sand hopper is a small semi-terrestrial amphipod, typically under two centimetres, that jumps by flexing its abdomen. It burrows in damp sand above the waterline during the day and emerges at night to feed on stranded seaweed. It is a major recycler of beach-cast organic matter.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-08-22

Beach Hopper

Sand hoppers steer home by the moon

A sand hopper displaced across a beach heads back toward the correct sea-land axis, and it does so at night using the moon as a compass, correcting for the moon's movement with an internal clock tuned to lunar rather than solar time.

Read with evidence →

Beach Hopper | Daily Animal Facts