Saltfleas

Saltfleas (family halspsyllidae) are a small family descended from sand fleas. They are found throughout the saltflats in the Western Mediterranean, Caspian Sea, and Black Sea. As the Seas dried, sand fleas adjusted to the deserts and lack of water

Saltfleas are very small creatures and males measure in at about 3/8 of an inch in length. Females are about 2/4 of an inch. Their shells are of a pale white hue.

They are one of the most durable creatures out in the salt flats and can go for days without water. The little water that is available is from the brine pools and higher concentrations of saltfleas are found near there. Like other creatures in the flats, they would boil alive in the sun, so instead they come out only at night.

During the day the saltfleas are buried a few feet under the salt and store all of their water inside of them for hours at a time before they can leave to eat and drink. When the time comes, they leave their burrows and hop across the dunes looking for food. When jumping, they stand on their hind legs and flex their abdominal muscles. These lunges send them barreling across the salt flats. Each leap allows them to travel 10 inches in random directions. Their diets consist of carrion, what little plants are left, waste, and each other. After eating and drinking as much brine as possible, they crawl back in their burrows. 

The mating season of Saltfleas are dependent on the yearly rains, which usually occur from February to April. They mate 2 months before the rains and lay the eggs a month later before dying. The eggs are anhydrobiotic, meaning that they can survive for months without water. Saltfleas only hatch when the week long rains end and the cycle continues. Saltfleas only live for about a year and a half.