Androniscus dentiger

Androniscus dentiger, the rosy woodlouse or pink woodlouse is a species of woodlouse found from the British Isles to North Africa.[3]

Androniscus dentiger
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Order:
Isopoda
Family:
Trichoniscidae
Genus:
Androniscus
Species:
A. dentiger
Binomial name
Androniscus dentiger
Verhoeff, 1908 [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Androniscus africanus
  • Androniscus alpinus
  • Androniscus carli
  • Androniscus weberi
  • Androniscus wolfi
  • Itea dentiger
  • Stenasellus hazeltoni
  • Trichoniscus dentiger

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
  1. "Androniscus dentiger Verhoeff, 1908". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  2. Helmut Schmalfuss (2003). "World catalog of terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) — revised and updated version" (PDF). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A. 654: 341 pp.
  3. Gabriele Gentile; Giuliana Allegrucci (1997). "Geographic variation and genetic relationships in populations of the Androniscus dentiger complex from Central Italy (Isopoda, Oniscidea, Trichoniscidae)" (PDF). International Journal of Speleology. 26 (1–2): 47–61. doi:10.5038/1827-806x.26.1.5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22.
  4. "Woodlouse wizard — less common species". Natural History Museum. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  5. Angelo Gross. "Androniscus dentiger — le cloporte rosâtre" (in French).
  6. "Life in the cave — Crustacea". Cambrian Caving Council. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  7. Joe Kennedy (July 5, 2008). "Meeting Dublin's wildest residents: review of Wild Dublin by Eanna ni Lamhna". Irish Independent.
  8. Ivan H. Tuf; Karel Tajovský; Jan Mikula; Vratislav Laška; Roman Mlejnek. "Terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) in and near the Zbrašov Aragonit Caves (Czech Republic)" (PDF). Proceedings of the International Symposium of Terrestrial Isopod Biology – ISTIB-07. I. Biodiversity & Systematics: 33–36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  9. Lee Knight (2007). "Cave Life in Britain" (PDF). Freshwater Biological Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17.
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