Androniscus dentiger
Androniscus dentiger, the rosy woodlouse or pink woodlouse is a species of woodlouse found from Great Britain to North Africa.[3]
Description
A. dentiger is a small woodlouse, at only 6 mm (¼ in) long, and is characteristically pink or orange in colour, with a yellow stripe along the midline of the dorsal surface,[4] which divides in two towards the animal's tail. It has large eyes for its size and a granular exoskeleton.[5]
Ecology
In the British Isles, A. dentiger is found in a wide variety of habitats, including coastal areas, gardens, old quarries[4] and caves.[6] It lives where there is a significant amount of lime available, and is reported to show a preference for Anglican churchyards over Catholic ones because the older, Protestant churches used ox-blood mortar.[7]
In the south of its range, A. dentiger is primarily troglobitic, with populations in different cave systems being genetically isolated by the lack of migration between caves.[8] Animals like A. dentiger which prefer to live in caves, but are not restricted to the cave environment may be termed troglophilic.[9]
In North America, A. dentiger is only known to occur in greenhouses.[2]
Subspecies
According to some authors, A. dentiger may be considered a complex of sibling species or cryptic species .[3] Six subspecies are recognised:[1]
- Androniscus dentiger africanus Arcangeli, 1939
- Androniscus dentiger caecus Brian, 1938
- Androniscus dentiger calcivagus Verhoeff, 1908
- Androniscus dentiger croaticus Strouhal, 1939
- Androniscus dentiger dentiger Verhoeff, 1908
- Androniscus dentiger ligulifer Verhoeff, 1908
See also
References
- ^ a b "Androniscus dentiger Verhoeff, 1908". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=594216. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
- ^ a b Helmut Schmalfuss (2003). "World catalog of terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) — revised and updated version". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A 654: 341 pp. http://www.oniscidea-catalog.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/Cat_terr_isop.pdf.
- ^ a b Gabriele Gentile & Giuliana Allegrucci (1997). "Geographic variation and genetic relationships in populations of the Androniscus dentiger complex from Central Italy (Isopoda, Oniscidea, Trichoniscidae)". International Journal of Speleology 26 (1–2): 47–61. http://ijs.speleo.it/pdf/59.127.26_Gentile.Allegrucci.pdf.
- ^ a b "Woodlouse wizard — less common species". Natural History Museum. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/other-invertebrates/walking-with-woodlice/species5b.html. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ^ Angelo Gross. "Androniscus dentiger — le cloporte rosâtre" (in French). http://pagesperso-orange.fr/zenza/cloportes/Adentiger.html.
- ^ "Life in the cave — Crustacea". Cambrian Caving Council. http://www.cambriancavingcouncil.org.uk/cavelife/wales/crustacea.html. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
- ^ Joe Kennedy (July 5, 2008). "Meeting Dublin's wildest residents: review of Wild Dublin by Eanna ni Lamhna". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/meeting-dublins-wildest-residents-1428177.html.
- ^ Ivan H. Tuf, Karel Tajovský, Jan Mikula, Vratislav Laška & Roman Mlejnek. "Terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) in and near the Zbrašov Aragonit Caves (Czech Republic)". Proceedings of the International Symposium of Terrestrial Isopod Biology – ISTIB-07 I. Biodiversity & Systematics: 33–36. http://ekologie.upol.cz/ad/tuf/pdf/papers/Tuf+Tajovsky+Mikula+Laska+Mlejnek2008.pdf.
- ^ Lee Knight (2007). "Cave Life in Britain". Freshwater Biological Association. http://www.fba.org.uk/recorders/publications_resources/cavelife/contentParagraph/00/document/CaveLife_Website.pdf.