Beach Hopper Identification
Taxonomy
There are three main species of Talitridae in central Puget Sound: Traskorchestia georgiana, Traskorchestia traskiana, and Megalorchestia pugettensis (listed in order of increasing maximum size). Identification of beach-hoppers can be done to the family level (Talitridae), genus level (Traskorchestia spp. and Megalorchestia spp.), or species level, in increasing degree of difficulty. The taxonomic key Bousfield 1982 can be used to identify Talitridae to species. See figures 5, 6, and 16 for the species mentioned here. Photos of a male Traskorchestia traskiana and its Gnathopod 1 are below:
