About Platorchestia platensis (Krøyer, 1845)
Platorchestia platensis (Krøyer, 1845) is a species of sand flea, a type of amphipod crustacean that inhabits beach environments.
The full native range of P. platensis has not been clearly documented, but it is most likely naturally found across circumtropical regions. The original species description was created from specimens collected near the commercial port of Montevideo, and the species is thought to spread via ship ballast water. It was first recorded in northern Europe in 1860, found on a beach near Humlebæk, Denmark. By the 1940s, it was already common on both sides of the Kattegat. It arrived in the Netherlands around 1950, and reached the United Kingdom in 1978.
Like other sand fleas in the family Talitridae, P. platensis lives above the littoral zone, in moist sand or decaying seaweed. On European beaches, there is evidence of competitive exclusion occurring between P. platensis and the native European species Orchestia gammarellus.
