The tiny copepod crustacean Neocalanus tonsus is one of the most abundant animals in the ocean around southern and central New Zealand. Dense swarms appear in surface waters during spring and summer, when they become an important food for seabirds, sei whales and basking sharks. At the end of summer they descend to deep water. They spend winter there, undergoing a final moult before breeding.
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Private collection
Photograph by Mark Ohman
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