The “meat-loving” marine creature that ate at the legs of a Melbourne teenager has been identified as a flesh-eating sea flea, known as a lysianassid amphipod.
Marine biologist Dr Genefor Walker-Smith said the creatures, which left 16-year-old Sam Kanizay with significant bleeding from his legs, were a small, scavenging crustacean that usually fed on dead fish or sea birds.
Kanizay said on Monday he was soaking his legs at Brighton beach when he felt the creatures attack, causing wounds that would not stop bleeding.
But Walker-Smith told the ABC’s RN Breakfast program the amphipods posed no risk to the public and that it was safe to go back into the water.
It was a combination of cold water numbing Kanizay’s legs, bad luck, and standing still that led to an exceptional number of bites.
Walker-Smith, who examined samples of the amphipods obtained by the family, said they were a natural part of the marine ecosystem that performed a vital role in the food web.
The original article contains 420 words, the summary contains 164 words. Saved 61%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The “meat-loving” marine creature that ate at the legs of a Melbourne teenager has been identified as a flesh-eating sea flea, known as a lysianassid amphipod.
Marine biologist Dr Genefor Walker-Smith said the creatures, which left 16-year-old Sam Kanizay with significant bleeding from his legs, were a small, scavenging crustacean that usually fed on dead fish or sea birds.
Kanizay said on Monday he was soaking his legs at Brighton beach when he felt the creatures attack, causing wounds that would not stop bleeding.
But Walker-Smith told the ABC’s RN Breakfast program the amphipods posed no risk to the public and that it was safe to go back into the water.
It was a combination of cold water numbing Kanizay’s legs, bad luck, and standing still that led to an exceptional number of bites.
Walker-Smith, who examined samples of the amphipods obtained by the family, said they were a natural part of the marine ecosystem that performed a vital role in the food web.
The original article contains 420 words, the summary contains 164 words. Saved 61%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!