Known distribution is shown in yellow.
Known distribution is shown in yellow.
| The five known species of Halobates are distributed around the world roughly between latitudes 40-degrees north or south of the equator. Do Halobates require these warm ocean waters, or are they distributed more widely but have not yet been detected because of lack of sampling? |
| Why are there only a few species, and how do they live in a habitat where no other insect occurs? The answers to these questions have not yet been discovered. One possibility is that insects are currently adapting to life on the ocean and the sea skaters have just been the first to make the transition. We may gain further insights by looking at insects on the shore. |