A few days ago we happened upon this little isopod crawling along a sandy beach.
Below is another view in Eric's hand. The isopod was ~15 mm (~0.5 inch) long.
Meet Alloniscus perconvexus! [We've been calling this one "Allen" for short. ;)]
This is a terrestrial isopod that lives on the uppermost part of the beach.
Fun facts about Alloniscus:
- It's an air-breather.
- It's a burrower. You might see its small mole-like burrows at the surface, but it can burrow 7.5-15 cm (3-6 inches) below the surface.
- It scavenges on beach wrack (seaweeds washed up at the high tide line) at night.
- Its pereopods (legs) are robust and adapted for burrowing:
This is the last view we had of Allen, burrowing head first beneath the sand:
Since then I've been wondering about this little isopod's adventures. What do you think Allen's been up to (or down to)?
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