Calycopteryx

[4] Calycopteryx mosleyi has wings that have shrunk and turned into a fat reserve, probably due to the strong winds of the Kerguelen archipelago that make flight for tiny insects almost impossible.

[7] Apart from the cold, the climate is also characterized by extreme windswept, generally low cloud cover and snowfall occurrence through most of the year.

[8] However, newer studies reveal that there is a large number of C. mosleyi living in areas devoid of Kerguelen cabbages, like seaweed habitats[8] consisting mostly of kelps of the Macrocystis pyrifera species that were washed ashore.

[4] They have also been found in other coastal locations, like penguin colonies, where they have a similar role as in the seaweed ecosystems, they decompose organic matter.

[5] The population of Calycopteryx mosleyi has greatly reduced since the arrival of humans on the islands it inhabits, mostly due to the animals introduced to the ecosystem by them.

Location of the Kerguelen plateau on the globe, where the Kerguelen Islands and Heard Island are located
Kergeulen cabbages on Mayes Island ( Kerguelen Islands ), this is what the typical habitat of the Calycopteryx mosleyi looks like