Halobates

Halobates
Temporal range:
A group of the coastal Halobates matsumurai at the Kujūku Islands, Japan
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Infraorder: Gerromorpha
Superfamily: Gerroidea
Family: Gerridae
Genus: Halobates
Eschscholtz, 1822
Species

More than 40, see list

Halobates, colloquially the sea skaters or ocean striders, are a genus with over 40 species of water striders. Most Halobates species are coastal and typically found in sheltered, coastal marine habitats (a habitat where a few other genera of water striders also live), but five live on the surface of the open ocean and only occur near the coast when storms blow them ashore. These are the only known truly oceanic, offshore insects. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine habitats around the world, with a single species recorded in rivers a few kilometers upstream from the ocean. Halobates are generally very abundant where they are found.