ClimateSeptember 4, 2026

infauna

IN-fawn-uh

Definition

Small aquatic animals, such as worms and crustaceans, that live within the sediments of the seafloor or lake bed rather than on the surface.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'in' (within) and the Greek 'fauna' (animals of a particular region or time), first appearing in biological literature in the 1950s.

In the news

Researchers in the Venice Lagoon study infauna to interpret how their burrowing patterns and behavioral traces act as environmental indicators of climate change.

Venice Lagoon provides living laboratory for researchers studying climate change

Read the full article ↗

Phys.org

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