Getting Muddy in the Mudflats on the Way to the Mangroves
Mangroves and Mudflats typically go together. Both important ecosystems that are home to large populations of wildlife including vital species such as crabs, mollusks, and fish.
- Fiddler Crab, male Fiddler Crabs have large claws like this due to sexual selection. Female crabs are more attracted to crabs with the larger claws despite that the claws provide no other function and could even harm their survival as it could attract predators. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Crustacea Class: Malacostraca Order: Decapoda Infraorder: Brachyura Family: Ocypodidae Subfamily: Ucinae
- Oysters are common in mudflats especially saltwater clams traditionally found in shallow seabeds. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Bivalvia Subclass: Pteriomorpha Order: Arcoida Family: Glycymerididae Genus: Glycymeris
- Peppery Furrow Shell most common in estuaries, Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Bivalvia Subclass: Heterodonta Order: Veneroida Superfamily: Tellinoidea Family: Semelidae Genus: Scrobicularia Species: S. plana
Mangroves forests are situated in brackish waters making the trees very unique for being saline tolerant and adaptable to many extremes.
- Mangrove Roots
- Grey Mangrove Domain: Eukarya Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Acanthaceae Genus: Avicennia Species: A. marina
- Red Mangrove, a True mangrove Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Malpighiales Family: Rhizophoraceae Genus: Rhizophora Species: R. mucronata