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common
Water Scorpion
Nepa cinerea
- Habitat
- Still and slow-moving freshwater across Europe and northern Africa
- Body length
- 22 mm
- Order
- Hemiptera · Nepidae
Weird but real
Its rear 'tail' is a two-part breathing siphon that lets it hang head-down underwater while sipping air at the surface.
Why it's cool
A leaf-flat ambush hunter with mantis-like forelegs and a built-in snorkel is peak pond-monster engineering.
