|
Armadillidium Maculatum
''Armadillidium maculatum'', also known as the zebra isopod or zebra pillbug is an ''Armadillidium'' species of woodlouse, named for its black and white patterns. It is native to southern France. Description ''Armadillidium maculatum'' is average sized for its genus and can grow up to 1.8 centimeters or 11/16 inches. Like other members of its family, it can conglobate or roll into a ball when disturbed or to conserve moisture. Its striped appearance is thought to be an example of Batesian mimicry, mimicking the pill millipede ''Glomeris marginata'' which secretes noxious chemicals. Ecology Like other woodlice, it is a detritivore which feeds off decaying organic material. It feeds mainly on fallen hardwood leaves and decaying hardwood. Like all other isopods, it breathes through trachea-like gills and requires some moisture to breathe. Like other members of its genus, it can withstand a drier environment than many other isopods. As pets ''Armadillidium maculatum'' has be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armadillidium
''Armadillidium'' () is a genus of the small terrestrial crustacean known as the woodlouse. ''Armadillidium'' are also commonly known as pill woodlice, leg pebbles, pill bugs, roly-poly, or potato bugs, and are often confused with pill millipedes such as ''Glomeris marginata''. They are characterised by their ability to roll into a ball ("volvation") when disturbed. Distribution and habitat They typically feed on moss, algae, bark and other decaying organic matter. They are usually found in moist areas such as decomposing leaf matter and soil. ''Armadillidium vulgare'' is the most abundant species in Europe and has been introduced worldwide. However, the vast majority of species are endemic to small regions close to the Mediterranean Sea, in much lower numbers than common species such as ''A. vulgare'', and hence are understudied. Description Unlike other terrestrial arthropods such as insects and spiders, pill bugs do not have a waxy cuticle that would reduce evaporation from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodlouse
A woodlouse (plural woodlice) is an isopod crustacean from the polyphyleticThe current consensus is that Oniscidea is actually triphyletic suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood. The first woodlice were marine isopods which are presumed to have colonised land in the Carboniferous, though the oldest known fossils are from the Cretaceous period. They have many common names and although often referred to as terrestrial isopods, some species live semiterrestrially or have recolonised aquatic environments. Woodlice in the families Armadillidae, Armadillidiidae, Eubelidae, Tylidae and some other genera can roll up into a roughly spherical shape ( conglobate) as a defensive mechanism; others have partial rolling ability, but most cannot conglobate at all. Woodlice have a basic morphology of a segmented, dorso-ventrally flattened body with seven pairs of jointed legs, specialised appendages for respiration and like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batesian Mimicry
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work on butterflies in the rainforests of Brazil. Batesian mimicry is the most commonly known and widely studied of mimicry complexes, such that the word mimicry is often treated as synonymous with Batesian mimicry. There are many other forms however, some very similar in principle, others far separated. It is often contrasted with Müllerian mimicry, a form of mutually beneficial convergence between two or more harmful species. However, because the mimic may have a degree of protection itself, the distinction is not absolute. It can also be contrasted with functionally different forms of mimicry. Perhaps the sharpest contrast here is with aggressive mimicry where a predator or parasite mimics a harmless species, avoiding detection and improving its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glomeris Marginata
''Glomeris marginata'' is a common European species of pill millipede. It is a short millipede, rounded in cross-section, which is capable of rolling itself up into a ball ("volvation") when disturbed. This behaviour is also found in the pill woodlouse ''Armadillidium'', with which ''G. marginata'' is often confused. Distribution ''Glomeris marginata'' is found throughout central and north-western Europe, from Poland and Scandinavia to Spain and Italy. In the British Isles, it is found in all areas south of the Central Belt of Scotland. Description ''Glomeris marginata'' grows up to long and wide, and is covered by twelve black dorsal plates with white rims. Each segment except those at the front and back bears two pairs of legs, with around 18 pairs in total. This distinguishes pill millipedes from pill woodlice, both of which are called "pillbugs" — woodlice have 7 pairs of walking legs, one per body segment, while millipedes have more pairs, and with two pairs to each ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodlouse
A woodlouse (plural woodlice) is an isopod crustacean from the polyphyleticThe current consensus is that Oniscidea is actually triphyletic suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood. The first woodlice were marine isopods which are presumed to have colonised land in the Carboniferous, though the oldest known fossils are from the Cretaceous period. They have many common names and although often referred to as terrestrial isopods, some species live semiterrestrially or have recolonised aquatic environments. Woodlice in the families Armadillidae, Armadillidiidae, Eubelidae, Tylidae and some other genera can roll up into a roughly spherical shape ( conglobate) as a defensive mechanism; others have partial rolling ability, but most cannot conglobate at all. Woodlice have a basic morphology of a segmented, dorso-ventrally flattened body with seven pairs of jointed legs, specialised appendages for respiration and like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detritivore
Detritivores (also known as detrivores, detritophages, detritus feeders, or detritus eaters) are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces). There are many kinds of invertebrates, vertebrates and plants that carry out coprophagy. By doing so, all these detritivores contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles. They should be distinguished from other decomposers, such as many species of bacteria, fungi and protists, which are unable to ingest discrete lumps of matter, but instead live by absorbing and metabolizing on a molecular scale (saprotrophic nutrition). The terms ''detritivore'' and ''decomposer'' are often used interchangeably, but they describe different organisms. Detritivores are usually arthropods and help in the process of remineralization. Detritivores perform the first stage of remineralization, by fragmenting the dead plant matter, allowing decomposers to perform the second stage of reminerali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isopoda
Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax. Isopods have various feeding methods: some eat dead or decaying plant and animal matter, others are grazers, or filter feeders, a few are predators, and some are internal or external parasites, mostly of fish. Aquatic species mostly live on the seabed or bottom of freshwater bodies of water, but some taxa can swim for a short distance. Terrestrial forms move around by crawling and tend to be found in cool, moist places. Some species are able to roll themselves into a ball as a defense mechanism or to conserve moisture. There are over 10,000 identified species of isopod worldwide, with around 4,50 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armadillidium Vulgare
''Armadillidium vulgare'', the common pill-bug, potato bug, common pill woodlouse, roly-poly, slater, doodle bug, or carpenter, is a widespread European species of woodlouse. It is the most extensively investigated terrestrial isopod species. Description ''Armadillidium vulgare'' may reach a length of , and is capable of rolling into a ball when disturbed; this ability, along with its general appearance, gives it the name ''pill-bug'' and also creates the potential for confusion with pill millipedes such as ''Glomeris marginata''. It can be distinguished from ''Armadillidium nasatum'' and '' Armadillidium depressum'' by the gap that ''A. nasatum'' and ''A. depressum'' leave when rolling into a ball; ''A. vulgare'' does not leave such a gap. Ecology ''Armadillidium vulgare'' is able to withstand drier conditions than many other woodlouse species, and is restricted to calcareous soils or coastal areas. It feeds chiefly on decaying plant matter, but also grazes lichens and algae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Isopoda")