| Glacier flea | |
|---|---|
| |
| A group of glacier fleas assembled on the Tiefenbachferner, Tyrol, Austria | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subclass: | Collembola |
| Family: | Isotomidae |
| Genus: | Desoria |
| Species: | D. saltans
|
| Binomial name | |
| Desoria saltans Nicolet, 1841
| |
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.[1] The jet black animal is easy to spot on light backgrounds and gathers in great numbers on surfaces during the melt season.