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Sunday 15 October 2023

Italian Sea Slater - Ligia italica Fabricius, 1798 - Cyprus

 See also 

All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο



Ligia italica is a sea Slater, a member of the Ligiidae family - Order: Isopoda

It has an oval body, flattened on the back and on the belly; it is about 12 millimeters long. The species can live in marine and terrestrial habitats and hence share characteristics of both environments but is more adapted to the terrestrial one where they move very swiftly and are camouflaged to the rock. It is hence commonly on the supralittoral zone of rocky coasts.

Distribution

Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic in northern Africa down to Cape Verde and Macaronesian Islands. 

It is characterized by diurnal activity; it moves on rocks and swims in the water, although it does not easily tolerate plunging. Breathing is branchial. Sexes are separated: eggs are incubated in a hollow formed from plates located on the thorax processes of the female. The larvae come out from the eggs which, after several molts, turn into adults. It feeds mainly on vegetable remains or on any other kind of organic material. From https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/32637/italian_sea_slater.html

Photo 3/8/2013 by George Konstantinou


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