Poster: A snowHead
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Glaciers look fairly bleak cold (obviously) barren places, so it may come as a surprise that many of the Alpine glaciers are host to small wildlife in the form of fleas! From Wikipedia, quote: The glacier flea (Desoria saltans, sometimes also Isotoma saltans) is a species of springtail. D. saltans is the common glacier flea, but there are several springtail species that are also called glacier fleas, and which catch the attention on snow surfaces due to their dark body colouring, their hopping motion and the fact that they often gather in large groups. These include, for example, Desoria nivalis (formerly also: Isotoma pseudomaritima) or Vertagopus alpinus. D. saltans is 1.5 – 2.5 millimetres long and lives on the glaciers and snowfields of the Alps, where it feeds on substances such as cryoconite, pollen and plant remains and snow algae of the genus Chlamydomonas. The jet black animal is easy to spot on light backgrounds and gathers in great numbers on surfaces during the melt season.
Those sHs who have visited the Hintertux glacier may know that its glacier flea has been adopted as the ski resort's mascot, called Luis.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Alastair Pink, learned something new there! I shall look out for them next time I'm up there
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Here's Luis just now on my way up the hill
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@swskier,
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Alastair Pink, @swskier,
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Fresh down to valley level?
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@Dave of the Marmottes, yep
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