''Ligia baudiniana'' is a
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 ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Ligiidae
Ligiidae is a family of woodlice, the only family in the infraorder Diplocheta. Its members are common on rocky shores, in similar habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that ...
. It has a coarsely granular surface and large eyes that are very close together.
Distribution
''L. baudiniana'' has been found from
Bermuda
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to the
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...
and south to
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
.
Behavior
They venture out in great numbers in the
intertidal zone at low tide, then they retreat as the water returns, but they need the water to keep their gills warm and have never found more than from shore. They cannot live in seawater for extended periods, as can ''
L. oceanica'', for example. They survive best in moist environments, but cannot survive in
fresh water, most likely due losing their vital salts via dilution.
To hydrate, they turn away from the water and dip their uropods in the water and oscillate the distance between the uropodal spines to draw water up onto their gills. When it rains, they come out ''en masse'' several feet from the shore.
[
]
''L. baudiniana'' feeds primarily on the unicellular
green algae that coat intertidal rocks,
rasping them off with a vertical movement of the front half of its body.
''L. baudiniana'' changes coloring, lighter or darker, based on its background.
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2784014
Woodlice
Crustaceans described in 1840
Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards