coastlines of Europe and North Africa. Eurynebria

has disappeared from much of its former range in

recent years, and the reasons for its decline are not

fully understood, as in some cases the beaches it

inhabited seem unchanged to the human eye.

A few other carabid ground beetles take their

association with water even further, submerging

themselves temporarily to pursue their aquatic

prey in its own environment.

Some water beetles of several families have

adapted to live in brackish or even salt water,

but these generally only inhabit tide pools in the

splash zone on rocky shores, which are rarely

inundated by the waves, and take shelter in cracks

in the rocks during exceptionally high tides.

Other beetles, such as some small Carabidae,

Staphylinidae, Melyridae, and Salpingidae, live

permanently on rocky shores between the tide

lines, emerging at low tide to feed on algae or

stranded marine organisms, and returning during

high tides to fissures in the rocks where some air

is trapped.

top | Ochthebius marinus

(Hydraenidae) Warm, sun-exposed

tide pools that are only occasionally

refreshed by the sea provide ideal

habitats for the European marine

moss beetle.

above | Ochthebius marinus

(Hydraenidae) A small water beetle

adapted to pools of brackish or salt

water near the sea, where it grazes

on algae.

opposite below | Aegialites

(Salpingidae) The larva of a genus

of small, flightless beetles. The

adults and larvae live in cracks in

intertidal rocks on both sides of the

North Pacific.