Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Crustacea (Crustaceans) ➔ Class Malacostraca (Malacostracans) ➔ Order Isopoda (Pillbugs, sowbugs, woodlice) ➔ Family Ligiidae
Ligia italica Fabricius, 1798
Synonyms and other combinations:
Ligia brandtii Rathke, 1837 | Ligia ehrenbergii Brandt, 1833 |
Distribution:
Black Sea; Mediterranean Sea; North Africa; North Atlantic Ocean.Habitat:
Splash zone of marine rocky beaches, cliffs of the intertidal zone.Habitus:
Body length 7 - 10 mm; oval, flat body; the long antennae reach 2/3 of the body length; big eyes; large uropods each with 2 long rami; leggy; variable coloring gray/brown/olive green.Biology:
Ligia italica feeds on lichens and algae.Predators:
Birds and crabs.References, further reading, links:
- Boyko C.B, Bruce N.L., Merrin K. L., Ota Y., Poore G.C.B., Taiti S., Schotte M. & Wilson G.D.F. (Eds) (2008 onwards). (2018). WoRMS Isopoda: World Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans database (version 2017-03-01). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2017 Annual Checklist (Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds.). Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-884X.
- RamÃrez, R. & R. Riera: First record of Ligia oceanica (Linnaeus, 1767) (Isopoda: Ligiidae) in the Canary Islands, Arquipelago - Life and Marine Sciences 30, 2013, ISSN: 0873-4704.