Ligia natalensis

Ligia natalensis is a woodlouse-like isopod in the family Ligiidae.[1]

Ligia natalensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Order:
Isopoda
Family:
Ligiidae
Genus:
Ligia
Species:
L. natalensis
Binomial name
Ligia natalensis
W. E. Collinge, 1920

The type specimen for this species is held in the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.[2]

Description

L. natalensis is silver-grey with darker grey markings. Its moderately convex body is twice as long as it is wide, 16–17 millimetres (0.63–0.67 in), with some bumps on the outer "shell"...neither as smooth as L. glabrata nor as granulated as L. diletada.

Its eyes are large and convex, and its long, thin antennae have five sections. The first three sections are short, and the last two are long. In females, the antennae are as long as the body, while the male's antennae are longer. The species' elongated uropods are slightly curved inward.[2]

Distribution

L. natalensis has been found along the waterline of KwaZulu-Natal, along the South Coast in South Africa.[2]

References
  1. Marilyn Schotte (2010). Schotte M, Boyko CB, Bruce NL, Poore GC, Taiti S, Wilson GD (eds.). "Ligia natalensis Collinge, W. E." World Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  2. Walter E. Collinge (1920). "Contributions to a knowledge of the terrestrial Isopoda of Natal. Part III". Annals of the Natal Museum. 4 (2): 471–490.


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